Darkness and Dreams
by Sennethe
Summary: DDI: Alia has to steal from Jareth and ends up involved in more than she bargained for. Rating upped to PG ... er, K plus ... just in case for very mild language and violence. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

You know the usual disclaimer. Labyrinth and its characters and contents belong to The Jim Henson Company. The title comes from a song on Enya's The Memory of Trees, "Once You Had Gold" (lyrics by Roma Ryan, music by Enya).

In future installments, disclaimers will be placed at the end of the chapter to avoid spoiling anything.

Stick with the story until the end of the second chapter. That's when things get really interesting, I think. And no, I can't just chuck the first bit then, because it's needed for the story.

Originally written in 1999, I'm editing as I post here, so there may still be delays as life intervenes.

* * *

...the King climbs to the top of the skeletal platform looking for the Prince...he must rescue the Prince...the Prince is among Enemies...he must not allow the Prince to remain among Enemies...the King cannot pull himself to the top of the tower...something prevents him...the Enemies again, he thinks...he does not see them but they could be anywhere, everywhere...he grabs at the pile of thin metallic disks he sees in front of him on the top of the platform, snatching them before They realize he can reach them...he knows they are crucial...he must keep all of them...they are so sharp...do not let them separate...if he handles them carelessly they will cut him...but he cannot cling to the scaffold with only one hand free...he cannot hold all of the disks and land safely on his feet...magic will not save him...he loses his balance and lets go...somehow, not knowing how, he retains all of the disks and lands without harm on the dusty, hard-packed ground...time to go...he turns and runs from the enemy...

"Time to go."

Someone touched her arm. Alia opened her eyes and stared at the woman in front of her uncomprehendingly. After a moment, she recognized the nurse usually working in this ward, then glanced over at Cara sleeping peacefully in her bed.

"Visiting hours are ending. Time for you to leave now."

The nurse walked over to the television hanging on the wall to switch it off. A movie played with the sound turned down so low Alia could barely hear it. She thought she heard music playing and she could see a room full of stairs at every angle. The man on the screen stirred associations in her mind, but before anything surfaced the picture flared and went dark. Alia frowned to herself. She didn't remember turning the television on. After she fell asleep, Cara must have woken and turned it on.

Alia shook her head trying to clear the sleep from it and rose out of the chair. She looked around for her things. She had seen that face before; she knew she had. The teasing memory felt recent, but surely she would have remembered it if she had seen that face in the last couple of days. "Where did I see it?"

"Pardon me?"

Alia glanced up, surprised that the nurse had not already left the room and only then realizing that she had spoken aloud. "Oh. Um...nothing. Just looking for all of my stuff. I think I've got it all now." She smiled weakly at the nurse. She didn't know who she was trying to reassure of her sanity more, herself or the nurse.

She put on her coat and gathered her things. Books? Check. Papers? Check. Bag? Check. Keys in bag? Check. Alia gazed again at Cara's dark-haired sleeping form. Cara breathed deeply and evenly, simply sleeping, despite the seriousness of her illness. The doctors said the growth, which only occasionally affected her currently, would eventually take her life. "Good night. I'll see you tomorrow," Alia whispered to herself.

Her mind ran circles from one worry to the next: Cara's illness, her own graduate work and teaching assistantship, and now this face. She found her way to the parking lot without thinking, taking the same route she had walked so many times before. Her car sat alone at the far end, the closest free space when she arrived at the hospital earlier, during peak visiting hours. Alia managed to stop the endless circling in her head long enough to pay attention to her surroundings on the long walk out to her car. She had heard enough stories about what could happen to a woman alone in the dark for it to override all her other worries.

The light breeze blew cool and fresh from the clear sky where a few stars shone, barely visible beyond the brilliant amber glare of the parking lot lamps. Off to the east, the nearly full moon rose into the sky. The lamplight reflected off the beads of rainwater from the earlier storm, covering the few random cars left in the lot in their own individual jeweled coats. The pavement shimmered with its thin glaze of water and light. Puddles lay here and there, capturing the amber lamps and the pale moon with an oily iridescence.

Reaching her car, Alia got in and yawned. "I'm so tired. I can't believe I fell asleep on Cara," she thought.

Usually, even when Cara napped Alia still sat with her, working on paperwork or her studies until Cara woke or visiting hours ended. Alia started her car and headed for home.

She pulled into her parking space near her apartment. As she gathered her work from the backseat, she caught an unusual glint on the ground out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see what the flash was. There on the pavement of the parking lot lay a large rough rock, reflecting lamplight from its uneven facets. Wondering how it had gotten there, Alia picked it up and placed it in her jacket pocket to look at later. Then she turned back to pick up her books and papers to haul them up the two flights of stairs to her apartment.

Once inside the apartment, she dumped everything on the kitchen table and headed toward her bedroom to change, emptying her pockets as she walked. When she came across the rock, which she had already forgotten in her fatigue, Alia paused and then walked over to her desk to get a better look at it. She turned on the desk lamp and held the rock under it. It flashed red and violet as she turned it. It was just a rough stone, uncut and unpolished.

It could be some sort of gemstone – it looked fairly clear. On the other hand, it could have been just some student's mineral sample for geology class. College students dominated the apartment complex she lived in and she had certainly seen stranger – and more unpleasant – things left in the parking lot.

"I'll ask around or put up a sign tomorrow," she thought as she set it on the desk next to the computer and switched off the light.

After changing, Alia scrounged in the kitchen for something to eat. Finding real food grew more and more challenging. Between school and the hospital, Alia left herself little time to go grocery shopping. Alia turned to the pile on the table. Luckily she had gotten the most important things done before she fell asleep at the hospital because she could not bear the thought of working on them now. She hoped she had not fallen asleep when Cara was awake, though Cara must have woken up at some point in time, because someone turned the TV on. She could not remember doing it herself.

"Although, the way things have been going lately, I could have turned it on, for all I know," she muttered.

The scene playing as the nurse turned off the television flashed through her head. Was it a movie? A series? Maybe she had seen the actor in something else? Would have recognized him without the makeup and wig? She would look it up in the television listings tomorrow. It would take too much effort now, even for her insatiable curiosity.

Alia turned off lights, stumbled into her room, and slumped into bed. Despite that face running over and over through her mind, she fell asleep almost immediately. And dreamed...


	2. Chapter 2

...he hunts for the Prince...he must find the Prince...must find him before They do...he must rescue the Prince...must rescue him from the Enemies...the Prince does not see the Enemies...the King sees the scaffold...he scales it, but something prevents him from pulling himself over the edge...he sees the stack of metallic disks sitting near the edge within his reach...he makes a desperate grab for them...he clutches them tightly...the sharp edges bite into his hand...he cannot lose any of them...he loses his precarious hold on the platform...he knows he will fall awkwardly trying to retain all the disks...he will hurt himself...he falls...falling...

The alarm blaring, Alia sat straight up in bed, disoriented and groggy. She found herself and turned off the alarm, then flopped back in bed and groaned. She had dreamt, she knew that with certainty, but the alarm had disturbed it. "I dreamed…" Alia tried to remember, but the last faint impressions faded away even as she chased after them, leaving her only with a sense of urgency and the feeling that she had not dreamt as herself. She had had dreams like that before, where she was only a spectator not a participant, but usually she remembered more of them. They always left her wondering where they came from.

"I'd better get up before I fall back asleep," she muttered, throwing back the covers and groaning as she sat up again. She felt no better than she had the night before when she went to bed. "Ohh," she groaned, "I don't want to get up. I wish I could sleep in, but I've got so much to do."

Alia dragged herself to the bathroom to shower and get dressed. Still moving in slow motion she made herself some cold cereal for breakfast using the last of the milk.

"Got to stop at the store tonight – I'm out of everything."

She walked over to the computer and turned it on to check her e-mail while she ate. While waiting for everything to start and load a flare of color on her desk caught her eye. There, in a puddle of sunlight on her desk, sat the rock she had found down in the parking lot the night before. It glowed blue and green in the sun. Alia frowned. Though sleepy and not thinking clearly, Alia could swear it was red last night, maybe purple, but definitely not blue and green.

Forgetting about her e-mail and the computer, she set her cereal down and slowly reached for the stone. She examined it. It felt the same, had the same weight, the same shape as she remembered.

"It changes colors? Must be like those paints that change color in warm and cold water." It made sense. It had been cool and rained last night and now the rock had been sitting baking in the sun. She held it up to the light streaming in the window, mesmerized by the glowing colors shifting in its depths.

The computer chimed, reminding her of her e-mail. "I'll have to look this up later," she said as she replaced it on the desk.

Alia checked her e-mail and turned the computer off. She looked out at the kitchen and groaned at the mess. The dishes from the past week? – she could not remember when she had last taken time to bother with them – accumulated in the sink and overflowed onto the counters on either side. Alia picked up her empty cereal bowl, pulled back her long hair, and tackled the kitchen. In half an hour she had an empty sink, a full dishwasher, a clean counter, and a shopping list.

"Next step, the kitchen table," she sighed as she slumped dispiritedly in one of the chairs and surveyed the small mountain of books, notebooks, papers, and paperwork. Several hours later she had succeeded in making a sizable impression in the mess and gotten most of it under control, at least temporarily. As she was gathering her finished work to carry down to her car, she remembered to write a note to post on the bulletin board about the rock.

When she got back from posting the note and putting things in the trunk of her car, Alia tried to make herself a late lunch. She was left with a jar of pickles, some mayonnaise, half a bottle of salad dressing that she had never liked in the first place, but had not brought herself to throw away yet, a jar of jelly, and no bread (she was not going to count the moldy crusts from the end of the loaf she had missed when cleaning). After very little deliberation, she decided to pick up something to eat on the way to the hospital.

Alia gathered up more papers to grade to take with her, just in case Cara fell asleep and she did not. On a whim, she also grabbed the rock and stuck it in her pocket again. Maybe she would show it to Cara.

Arriving early for visiting hours and having plenty of time to sit down and eat, she decided to try the hospital cafeteria. "Theoretically, it should be better for me, right? And it shouldn't cost any more than fast food."

While eating her meal, she remembered that people do not come to hospitals for culinary delights. "Live and learn," she thought. She gathered her papers and purse, threw out her trash, and headed up to see Cara.

When she entered Cara's room, Alia found the patient listlessly thumbing through a magazine. Cara's large brown eyes looked up and she smiled when she saw Alia. "Hi! Long time no see. What's new with you?"

"Hmm, let's see. Since last night I've won the lottery and met a tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious stranger that I'm running away with as soon as I leave here. I just came to say goodbye."

"My, you're in a good mood today!"

"Ye-es,...yes, I am. I wasn't really when I got up this morning – I was exhausted – and I've got a ton of things to do, but right now I'm in a good mood. Strange. Must be the hospital food. I ate a late lunch here in the cafeteria. It gives you a whole new appreciation for life. You look like you're feeling well. You don't usually feel up to looking at magazines."

"Yeah, I feel pretty good. They let me sit in the sun room for a while this morning."

"That's great! That reminds me...look what I found last night." Alia dug the rock out of her pocket and handed it to Cara. "I found it in the parking lot when I got home last night.

"At first, I thought maybe it was a sample for someone's geology class, but now I think maybe it's some experimental substance. It changes color. See, now it's greenish, but last night, when I picked it up, I swear it was red, a dark purply red. When I got up this morning, it was sitting in the sun and had turned that green color. I think maybe it's heat sensitive, like those paints and plastics they use in toys now."

"But it's cool now. Shouldn't it have gone back to red?"

"Maybe too much heat makes it stick that way. It's a pretty color. Maybe I'll use it as a paperweight. Or you could keep it here if you want it."

Cara laughed, "No, you keep it. You've got plenty of paper laying around you can use it on. It's pretty heavy for its size. I don't think it's plastic. It doesn't feel right for plastic." Cara handed it back to Alia. "So, how long did you stay last night?"

"Until closing time. The nurse came and got me. She had to wake me up and turn off your movie."

"My movie? What movie?"

"The one on the TV. I don't know what it was. Maybe it came on after whatever it was you were watching."

"I didn't watch TV last night. I don't even remember waking up."

Alia frowned, "Maybe one of the nurses turned it on? The scene I saw was pretty weird. It was all stairs, all over the place. And it had this guy in it that I could swear I'd seen before."

"When was this? Maybe it's in the listings." Cara reached for the paper on the table next to the bed. "Let's see, playing last night at the end of visiting hours. What channel was it?"

"I don't know. The nurse turned it off. I didn't see. Have you watched the television today?"

"Hmm? No, but it resets when you turn it off anyway. I have to change the channel every time I turn it on. Very annoying. There are only a couple of movies listed here. You're sure it was a movie?"

"Well, it didn't look like a sitcom."

"No, I guess not. There's 'The Unknown Ranger.' Says that's a western. Sounds like a Lone Ranger knockoff. It wouldn't have fit in that one and it's in black and white anyway. Yours was color, right?"

"Yeah, color."

"The next one is 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights,' and while I wouldn't put anything past Mel Brooks, I've seen that one and I don't remember any scene like the one you described. The only other movie isn't listed here. It's TBA: to be announced. It must have been that one, it was on channel...umm...19. Which doesn't help us much."

"No, it doesn't."

"Well, if it comes on again you have my permission to wake me up or call me or whatever. Maybe I'll recognize the guy." Cara tossed the listings back onto the bedside table and hitched herself up in bed again.

The conversation moved on to other things and eventually lapsed into a companionable silence as Cara went back to her magazine. Once in a while she pointed out something she found interesting, while graded the papers she had brought with her. Eventually Cara laid down in bed and drifted off to sleep. Alia stayed on, continuing her work. She always stayed as long as she could. She had no idea how Cara felt about it – she had not asked and Cara never said – but it made her feel better to stay. So she stayed, even if Cara fell asleep.

Eventually, Alia tired of the work she had brought with her and decided she had earned a break. She reached over and picked up the television listings to see if anything on piqued her interest. Channel 19 had another TBA movie just starting.

"Their programmer must be on vacation. Let's see what this movie is." She turned the television on and turned the volume down all the way before any blaring commercials could wake Cara. She changed the channel, turned it up just a little, and sat down again.

A girl ran through the rain with her dog. Alia watched her disagree with her "wicked" stepmother and run upstairs to change. "Must be a teen movie," she thought.

"That was a quick change of clothes. I wish my hair would dry that fast. Ahh, the magic of movies."

The girl, Sarah, threw another tantrum when she discovered one of her toys missing. Sarah stormed out to take her toy back from her baby brother, the evil spawn of the wicked stepmother.

"I hate you! I hate you! Someone save me. Someone take me away from this awful place!" Sarah exclaimed melodramatically.

"Calgon take her away," giggled Alia before she remembered where she was and clapped her hand over her mouth. She looked guiltily over at Cara to see if she had disturbed her. Not yet. She considered waking her – they always used to have so much fun talking back at movies – but she decided against it. She turned her attention back to the television.

"Did she say it?"

"Shut up!"

These monster commentaries on the side were a hoot, too. Then the baby quit crying. Sarah frantically flipped a light switch on the wall back and forth. "Oh, great, a teen horror movie," Alia muttered. "And why do we flip switches like that? Do we think the switch maybe just wasn't paying attention the first time? The power's out. No, the lights are on in the hall. The bulb must have blown. Oohh, that would give me the creeps, things moving in dark corners like that." Suddenly the French doors blew open, an owl flew inside, and Sarah ducked. Alia's eyes grew wide and she blindly reached out to wake Cara.

"Cara," she hissed. "Cara, it's him. It's the movie! Cara!" She needed Cara to see this for some compelling, unknown reason beyond simple identity verification.

"Hunh? Wha? What's the matter?"

"Look! That's the character from the movie last night. This must be the movie."

"So what's the name of the movie?" She sat up and tried to focus on the screen,

"It doesn't say. Just 'to be announced' again. I didn't catch the beginning. So who is he? Where have I seen him before?"

"Wait a second, let me watch." Cara motioned for Alia to be still. "I think it's David Bowie. You probably saw him in some video recently. You just didn't get a chance to recognize him with the makeup and hair before the TV was turned off."

Alia was skeptical, "I don't know...it doesn't feel like that and I haven't had time to watch any music video stations recently. Did you want to watch the movie? It'd be like old times," Alia wheedled.

"Sure. Why not? I'll schedule my nap in later. Wonder if we can get popcorn from the nurses?" she grinned. "Can you imagine the expressions on their faces?"

Alia scooted closer to Cara's bed and they turned their attention back to the movie. A small man named Hoggle was fumigating fairies. They watched quietly until a little blue-haired worm with a red scarf showed up.

"Nice hair. Must be a movie from the '80s with all these punk hairstyles..."

"...What sort of idiot would ask to go down a hole?" Alia demanded.  
"Alice did," Cara reminded her.  
"Yeah, and look where it got her. Tea with mad hatters and croquet with a tyrant queen. Off with her head!"

"Now I know where to send all of my plastic costume jewelry."  
"That broom closet must contain the only broom in the whole Labyrinth..."

"...Great hat. At least you'd never have to worry about talking to yourself," Cara commented.  
"Yeah, the hat would do all the talking for you..."

"...Hey, lady, what about you? Does your head come off?" Alia mimicked the rambunctious orange creatures in the movie.  
"Of course it doesn't." Cara sobered momentarily. "I wish it did. Then I could get a replacement." Then she grinned. "Alice could have used them. Off with their heads..."

"...Uh, uh, uh. Don't drop that peach. Big Brother is watching you."  
"From a safe distance of course. Wouldn't want to get too close to that smell..."

"...I'll never look at a peach the same way again," Cara sighed after the crystal ballroom shattered.  
Alia nodded in agreement, "Yeah, maybe we need to eat more fruit..."  
"Or maybe not," Cara shuddered at the sight of the green worm inching across the orange flesh.

Sarah had returned to her room, "It was just a dream. I dreamed it all, Lancelot. But it seemed so real."

"A dream?" Alia repeated. The phrase triggered a feeling.

"What's the matter?" Cara asked.

"Oh, nothing. I had a dream this morning that I couldn't remember when I woke up. What she said reminded me about it. I just had the feeling that maybe that was where I'd seen him before, but I dreamed after I saw that scene so it couldn't have been." They turned back to the movie. By this time the companions were working on getting into the city.

"You know, if everyone had moved a little faster they would have made it through those gates," Alia pointed out. "I wonder when that stair scene comes in? We have to be near the end by now," she said as she checked her watch.

Jareth called the goblin guards out after the group of friends and Ludo summoned the rocks. Just after a rock jammed a firing cannon, three goblin guards blocked the path into the castle. "Hey, those are the bad guys from Power Rangers! This must have been their first job." Cara looked sheepish when Alia gave her a strange look. "I have a lot of time on my hands during the day. I have to watch something. It's either that or soaps."

She turned back to the movie where Sarah and company were climbing a cluttered staircase and muttered, "Geeze, you'd think, being a king, he could afford a housekeeper or six."

"There's the room! That's the room I saw last night!"

"So this is definitely the movie. Wonder what it's called? Maybe they'll show it in the credits at the end."

They watched the rest of the movie in silence until the credits started. "See, there. I told you it was David Bowie," Cara told Alia. "You just saw a video somewhere. Hey, it's a Henson movie. I should have guessed that they were all muppets." Finally, at the end of the credits, it showed the title of the movie: Labyrinth.

"Well, now you know," Cara yawned. "What time is it anyway?"

Alia stretched and looked at her watch again. "About an hour until visiting is over. You can go back to your nap. I'm going to finish up my work here and go. I'll show myself out."

"How kind of you." Cara said in her best high society accent and laid back down in bed. Alia turned off the television and the overhead light and directed the small table lamp away from Cara and toward her work.

She had been working that way for a short time when she registered another presence in the room. She looked up. Standing not far from her, just beyond the reach of the lamplight, was a dark figure watching her.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits and trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to you know who.

The Big Brother reference is from 1984 by George Orwell, if anyone was wondering. I've had people not recognize it. What are they teaching in schools these days?

Calgon was this bath bubble stuff – I remember the commercials from my childhood – I have no idea who made it or if it is still made. Alia's line comes from the commercials.


	3. Chapter 3

He looked at Alia, not Cara, which was odd. Why else would he be here but to visit Cara? Alia began to ask him why when she noticed he wore a cloak. The remnants of the movie still floating in her head, she blurted, "You're him aren't you?"

"Him?" a voice, accented to her American ears, asked from the depths of the hood.

"Um...never mind," Alia answered, a little flustered. "Don't be ridiculous," she told herself. "It was just a movie. But he is wearing a cloak. Who wears a cloak these days?" She tried to explain herself to the stranger. "We were just watching a movie and when I looked up and saw you standing there in that cloak, it startled me. I just said the first thing that popped into my head. You reminded me of one of the characters, the Goblin King."

"Ah, I think I understand," he stepped further into the light, pulling back his hood and smiling. The light showed the deep blue color of the woolen cloak, not the black that she had first assumed. His blond hair shone a deeper gold than the Goblin King's in the light of the lamp and he wore it cut short, not long. "No, I am not the Goblin King."

"No, I see that now. It was just my imagination running away with me. So, who are you? Are you here to see Cara?"

"My name is Tieran and I am here to see you."

"Me? Why? How did you know I'd be here?"

"Yes, you. Where else would I find you? Cara is why," he said gesturing to her lying in the bed.

"What about her?" Alia stood and stepped closer to Cara's bed.

"She is dying, is she not?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. So?"

"I believe I know how to help her."

"Yeah, and so did the doctors. Now she's just in here for tests, tests and more tests. What do you want to do to her?"

"I do not want to do anything to her. I told you I came here to see you. I need you to do something."

"Me? I can't do anything. Don't you think that if I could do something, I would?" Alia's voice quivered and she took a deep breath, trying to control herself. She always cried at the worst times and she vowed not to do it this time. "Why won't this quack just go away?" she thought angrily. "And why am I standing here talking to him? He shouldn't even be in here. Where's a nurse when you need one?"

"Quietly," he said softly. "You will wake her. You are right, you cannot do anything here. I need you to come with me and do something for me."

"Yeah, right. I wasn't born yesterday."

He shook his head in mild annoyance. "You misunderstand me."

"We'll see about that." She channeled her other emotions into defiance and anger.

"I need you to come with me to obtain something for me. I cannot go get it myself. Once you have it, you will be able to use it to help Cara."

"Why can't you get it yourself? What is 'it"? And why me and not someone else?"

"I would really rather not discuss it here. We could wake Cara or be disturbed by anyone walking in. You will not come with me first and let me explain?"

"Hell, no."

"I thought not." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It is part of a prophecy. That is why it needs to be you. The prophecy says you must be the one to go on the quest and find 'it,' the fruit."

"What? It names me by name?"

"No, of course not." He smiled. "Prophecies never work that way. That would be too easy. No, they lie dormant until just the right time. Then someone, such as me, deciphers them just in time for someone else, such as you, to be drafted into service to fulfill them, usually with very little time to spare."

"So, how do you know it is me?"

"You fit the prophecy. You picked up the stone."

"The stone?"

"Yes, the 'rock' you found that changed colors."

"Oh, that. I thought you were talking about some Arthurian legend." Alia took the stone out of her pocket again. "This?"

"Yes. You have not ruined it, as you thought. It is red again, you see? The color changes with the light source."

"Okay, why did I need to pick up the stone?"

"You picked up the stone because you saw it on the ground, correct?" He looked up from the stone to Alia with a questioning glance.

She nodded for him to continue.

"So because you saw the stone you picked it up. But this particular stone comes from my world, therefore not everyone in your world can see it. You alone saw it and picked it up. Because you can see this stone you should be able to do other things, which I will explain to you later."

"Your world? My world? And if I'm the only one who can see it, why could Cara see it when I showed it to her earlier?"

"Because you picked it up and kept it? Perhaps somehow that makes it visible to anyone. Or perhaps, she would have been able to see it in any case. I do not know."

"What about your world versus my world?"

"My world… I believe you mentioned a movie earlier?"

"Yeah, it was called 'Labyrinth.' What about it?"

"That is a part of my world. As a whole we call it the Underground and the Labyrinth forms just a small part of it."

Alia sat down quickly. "All of that is real? It exists?"

"Yes. It does not exist within your world and it is not exactly as it appeared in the movie but, it does exist."

"You live there?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes, I live near the kingdom of the Goblin King." He smiled. "That is where you will need to go to get the fruit. I cannot. I am not allowed to enter the Labyrinth or its surrounding lands. Even if I could reach the fruit, I still would not be able to take it. You can."

"So you are a criminal! I was right! Someone has a magical restraining order against you."

"No. That is the law for everyone. Jareth could not enter my home uninvited either."

"So you want me to come with you and go through the Labyrinth for you?"

"Yes. No. You do not need to go through the Labyrinth to get to the castle."

"The castle?!" she almost squeaked. "You want me to go to the castle? I'm supposed to walk up to the Goblin King – he's real, too, right?" The man nodded. "So I just walk up to the Goblin King and say 'Excuse me, do you have any fruit hanging around I can have?'"

"Quietly, you'll wake Cara. Of course not."

She lowered her voice, both in volume and pitch, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"You will need to get into the castle, find the peach tree in the gardens, and take the peach from it. You may not even see Jareth." He tried to make light of the possibility.

Alia's outrage only grew. "So I don't even ask for it? I'm supposed to just take it? That's stealing! He's not going to notice someone stealing one of his peaches?"

"Two of his peaches, actually. I understand your point, but that is the way the prophecy says you are to do it."

"Two of them?! The prophecy says?" Alia threw her hands up in the air. "Oh, well, that's all right then, if the prophecy says that's the way I do it. Does the prophecy happen to mention what happens to me when he catches me and throws me in a dungeon, or an oubliette, or the Bog of Infernal Stench or whatever it is? I suppose the Bog exists as well?" She plowed on without waiting for an answer. "Can't we just write him a letter from a safe distance? 'Dear Sir or Madam, It has come to our attention that you have a tree with magic peaches on it. We would be grateful if you could send us two of them by return post. Thank you very much.'"

"No, we cannot write a letter. That is not the way it is done. It is necessary for you to go get it, to prove your worthiness, perhaps. And, yes, unfortunately the Bog does exist. But the word is Eternal not Infernal, though your way is just as appropriate. The prophecy does not say whether he catches you. I hope that means he does not."

"You hope? If I am the one who has to do this, then why are you even here? Other than for the pleasure of teasing me with this wonderful news. Why come to tell me? What's in it for you? And what's in it for me? You said it would help Cara. How?"

"The peaches will help Cara. Have you ever read any of the Chronicles of Narnia?"

Alia nodded, "That's the one with the lion, right?"

"Yes. Do you remember the story with the rings that take the children from this world to other worlds? Where Narnia is created?"

"Mm-hmm. And there was an evil witch."

"Yes. The boy was sent to get an apple from a tree to heal his mother. This is the same principle but, instead of an apple, it is a peach. The peaches from this tree have the power to heal as well as induce the hallucinations you saw in the movie."

"So that's what Cara gets out of it, and I get Cara, but what do you get? Why do you care about her? Why go to this trouble? Do I stop and pick up some item of power on the way back so you can take over the world?"

"Do that and I would send you back to Jareth. I am telling you because the very fact that there is a prophecy suggests that this is important to my world. Why would there be a prophecy if it was not important? The only other thing I want is the second peach."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "You never know what might be useful."

"How can I believe any of this?"

"If you do not believe, you stay here and things will continue on as they did before. Perhaps you will wonder 'What if?' for the rest of your life, perhaps not. If you do believe, two things could happen. On the one hand, it all could be true, and you will go on a quest and, if you succeed, do something very worthwhile."

"And if I don't succeed?"

"I cannot answer that any more than you can. I do not know what would happen to you. In the second case, if you believe and what I am telling you is not true, what is the worst that could happen?"

"The worst case scenario would be that you are a serial rapist, torturer, and murderer with a very creative cover story."

That stopped him a moment. "I would have said the result would probably be the same as if you did not believe at all, but without the 'What if?'. Still, the question is: What do you believe?"

Alia jumped up and paced across the room. "Ohh, I don't know! I hate making decisions. And this is such a big one."

Cara slept on, miraculously oblivious to the previous discussion, while Alia paced. Alia paused, turned, and asked, "Can I have some time to think about it?"

"The sooner you go, the sooner you can help Cara. Will it really make a difference in your decision if you take longer to debate it?"

"I don't know. I want to help Cara. I want to believe what you're telling me, but the possible consequences for being wrong in 'my world' can be serious."

"And you're afraid of being disappointed," she admitted only to herself.

"And I really don't want a firsthand experience of the Bog of Eternal Stench," she told him.

"Who does? What about a firsthand experience of the basis for the rest of the movie? It was not all stinking bogs, oubliettes, and trash heaps."

"There is that," Alia conceded, but she still looked dubious.

"You will not be completely alone. I will keep in contact with you. I am just not allowed to travel with you."

"Keeping in touch won't be much help if I get in trouble."

"I do not believe there will be much physical danger."

"Much? I'd be happier with none." Alia took a deep breath, then sighed. "Okay, I'll go."

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, and trivia:

Everything belongs to Jim.

The Chronicles of Narnia were written by C.S. Lewis. The book referred to is the sixth book of the series, titled The Magician's Nephew, if anyone was wondering.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good," replied Tieran.

"So what do I do now? I need to get my stuff together and take it home. Can I tell Cara?"

"You do not need to do anything. Leave everything here. I will bring you back just after you leave. You need not even tell Cara."

"But visiting hours are just about over. Can you do it that close?"

"It will not be difficult. Just bring anything you think you might need and I will need the stone."

After putting the stone in her pocket, Alia rummaged through her purse for her comb and a rubber band. She braided her long, thick hair, fastened it with the rubber band, and said, "Okay, that's out of the way and I guess that's it. I'm sure I'll need something else later, but that can't be helped now. I'm ready."

"Give me your hands and close your eyes. You may feel a little dizziness."

Alia took one last look at Cara and held out her hands. Tieran grasped them firmly. He felt solid and real enough. If her imagination created this figment, it had created yet another difference between Tieran and Jareth – Tieran wore no gloves. She wondered why the Goblin King did. Meanwhile Tieran waited for her to close her eyes.

"It is really easier on you if you close your eyes," he said. Alia nodded, closed her eyes, and braced herself. She felt a slight sense of movement and then he released her hands.

When she opened her eyes to ask if there was a problem, she stopped in shock. They stood in a long colonnade of pale stone, walled on one side, open on the other. Steps ran down from it to a large garden overlooking the shore of a lake. The sun had just begun to set (or rise?) behind the mountains across the lake, bathing the columns in gold and amber light.

"Where are we? Is this the Underground?"

"Yes, this is my home."

"You live here?! It's beautiful."

"Thank you. I enjoy it very much."

"I can imagine," she said, awed, as she walked down the steps to get a better look beyond the columns.

"Come with me, I want to show you something," Tieran said, holding out his hand and gesturing for her to come with him.

She turned away from the landscape and looked up at Tieran. For the first time she saw him in full light. Even though he had removed his cloak, he still dressed eccentrically for her world. Not in tights and ruffles, but a tunic and trousers of midnight blue, decorated at the wrists and neck, and laced and tied over a white shirt. His eyes were a blue so deep and dark that she found it hard to determine their exact color until she approached to within a few feet of him.

He turned and motioned for her to proceed through an archway leading from the colonnade into a large room. She paused for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the relative dimness of the room and waited for Tieran to show her the way.

"Come this way. If we hurry, we may catch the last of the sunset."

They walked quickly through the sparsely furnished room, continuing over an ornately patterned, inlaid stone floor, through another archway into a large foyer and crossing to a large, imposing staircase which they ascended. At the top of the stairs, they turned several corners and proceeded down a long hallway to yet more stairs, this time spiraling up inside a broad tower.

Alia calculated that they must have climbed the equivalent of several floors passing no landings, doors or windows, when they suddenly reached the top of the tower. The stairs welled up through the floor, directly onto the crown of the tower. A stone parapet of latticework enclosed the tower on all sides, but wide openings between the columns supporting the roof allowed an unobstructed view and permitted the winds playing around the tower to enter.

Tieran walked to the west side of the tower. The last sliver of the sun was just slipping behind the mountains, but still shed just enough light to see the spectacular view. Alia could see the full length of the valley. The house sat on the shores of a lake that occupied about a third of the valley floor. Meadows and woods reaching up the shoulders of the mountains surrounding the valley shared the rest of it.

"Is just the valley yours or do you own further into the mountains as well?"

"Just the valley. I do not rule a large kingdom as the Goblin King does. I live here with only a few people to help care for the house and the immediate grounds. Most of the Underground has forgotten I am here. I have not attended one of the meetings of rulers of the lands in this area, in a very long time. I keep to myself and I doubt any of them think of me anymore."

"Don't you get lonely?"

"I am not alone here," he responded defensively. "I see people everyday. I follow what is happening in the rest of the world. I prefer not to involve myself in the petty feuds and social posturing. If something concerns me, I attend."

"You sound like me talking to Cara. She's always prodding me to go out to clubs. I think I say pretty much the same thing you did."

"And what does she say?"

"Usually, she says something like I'm in denial."

Alia turned away and walked around the tower looking at the rest of the valley. An awkward silence fell over them. A chill wind blew through the latticework and she shivered.

"If you have seen enough, we can go down now and I will show you your room," Tieran suggested.

"Yes, we can go down now," Alia agreed. "It's getting too dark to see and that wind is a little cold for just jeans and a light jacket."

Tieran started down the stairs. "I had Irielen, my steward and head of household, look for some clothes for you for your journey and stay here. You can change into something warmer before dinner."

"How long should it take me to get there?"

"A few days? A week? Maybe more." He shook his head. "I do not know."

"That long? I thought you said you lived near the Goblin King?"

"I do. In this direction, I live nearly as close as one can. Do not forget you will be on foot and travelling through mountains for part of the distance."

"Do you have a map?"

"Yes." He paused as they reached the hallway at the foot of the tower. "Would you like to look at it now or wait until after dinner?"

"It can wait until after dinner." They resumed walking and turned down another corridor she had not noticed before. "I get involved in maps. When will dinner be?"

"Not long, I believe. I will return for you when it is time. Your room is just at the end of the hall here. I thought you would stay here tonight and start in the morning. If you feel you need to stay longer, you may, but the longer you stay, the greater the chance that Jareth will notice your presence. Here is your room."

Tieran opened the door for her and Alia looked around the large room. A cluster of chairs and a table sat in front of a lit fireplace with another cluster near a set of French doors leading out onto a balcony. Heavy curtains hung at the windows and all around the four-poster bed. Tieran showed her a door to one side leading to a private bath, then left.

Alia walked over to the bed and couldn't resist reaching out to touch the hangings and bed cover of deep blackberry velvet embroidered with silver and gold. Then she walked over to the doors and passed between the matching curtains out to the balcony. Dusk had turned to full dark and the air had cooled even further in the short time it had taken them to descend from the top of tower. She turned back inside to find warmer clothing.

She opened the doors of the wardrobe in the corner of the room and found a wide variety of clothing. Dresses fit for balls, dresses for everyday wear, tunics and breeches like Tieran had been wearing, and even some "normal" clothing, recognizable as having come from her own world, hung in the wardrobe. She found a dress that looked warm and changed into it, assuming that dinner would be more formal than jeans and a blouse would cover.

Alia pondered for a moment the question of how the clothes fit her, then she remembered that Tieran had been watching her to know that she fit the prophecy. Between that and magic – when in doubt, magic covers everything – he could easily have figured out her clothing size.

The dress she chose was a heavy silk velvet in a charcoal gray color. Looking in the mirror Alia saw that it matched her eyes almost as well as Tieran's clothing had matched his. Her reflection showed her a pretty, but not gorgeous, young woman with what she considered average brown hair looking back at her. She found nothing remarkable in the image except perhaps her eyes. The color of her eyes had always pleased her. Alia sighed. "Still, I'm nothing compared to Cara. She's got those exotic looks that guys go for, those big brown eyes and silky black hair."

After combing out her hair – actually chestnut-colored – from its braid and putting it up in a bun, Alia sat in one of the chairs in front of the fire. Her hands fidgeted in her lap. She would have liked to have some work to go over or at least a book to read, but she could see no books anywhere in the room.

Her mind wandered. She thought back over the experiences she had had with Cara, tried to think back to when they first met. She could not remember at first. It seemed as if they had always known each other and been closest friends. Then she remembered; they had met when Cara had moved in from out of state during their first year in high school. Cara had been assigned a locker near Alia's and, when Cara could not get it to open, Alia had shown her the trick she had seen its previous owner use.

That had started it all. After that they became inseparable. They even went to college together, but decided not to room together freshman year, each one eventually getting her own apartment.

Alia continued on with graduate school to start working toward her doctorate, while Cara went further into her hobby of computers, eventually working for a big company. Then things started to fall apart when Cara got sick...

Someone knocked on the door, disturbing Alia from her thoughts. "Yes?" she answered. "Who's there?"

"Tieran." He complimented her as she opened the door. "That dress suits you. Are you ready for dinner?"

As she had expected, he had changed clothes as well, but had not dressed too formally. He wore deep russet red now, in a finer material. "Thank you. I'm ready if you think this is suitable for dinner," she replied.

"It will do well," he said. "While I am here, I need the stone you found. Could you get it for me, please?"

"Sure," Alia agreed, and walked into the bath where she had left her clothes. "What do you need it for?"

"It will be a surprise. Thank you," he said as he took the stone and it vanished.

"Did you just transport that somewhere?" she asked, astonished. "If you could do that on a regular basis, why did we have to hurry up all those stairs?"

"Sometimes it is easier and better to do things without magic," Tieran said. "Shall we go?" he asked as he held out his arm for her to take.

She tucked her hand under it and, as they walked down to dinner, wondered how she could so blithely accept all that was happening.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, and trivia:

Everything belongs to Jim.


	5. Chapter 5

Alia decided that she accepted all of this so easily because things happened this way in fantasy stories. If things did not happen this way, there would be no fantasy stories. Then, halfway through dinner, she thought of another question that should have been bothering her. She brought it up over dessert.

"You keep saying that things must be done a certain way to follow the prophecy. Just what is this prophecy exactly?"

Tieran reclined in his chair at the opposite end of the table. "The prophecy seems to have originated centuries ago in the Labyrinth and was, for some reason, recorded in an ancient tongue not commonly in use even then. When translated it runs:

Another will come to the castle beyond the Labyrinth, beyond the Goblin City,  
Who will not pass the Labyrinth  
And yet, will pass through trials,  
Seeing what others cannot –  
The stone that is not as it seems.

Another will come,  
To take back what is needed, what is stolen,  
That which is not as it seems,  
The dream, the circle, the orb, the aliment,  
For the life of one who is dear.

It sounds much better in the original tongue, but that is the basic meaning. I interpreted it to mean you." He started ticking off points of correspondence. "In one of the languages of your world your name means 'another' and Cara's means 'dear.' Did you know that?"

Alia nodded, "Yes, my mother was a history buff. It's a long story. I don't know the story behind Cara's name."

"You saw the stone," Tieran continued. "You need the peaches – what it means by dream, orb, and aliment.

"It seems to say that you do not go through the Labyrinth, but you do go through trials. You will see on the map later that you will need to go through these mountains we are in and a small desert – the trials, I believe." He leaned forward in his chair.

"The line 'To take back what is needed, what is stolen,' could mean that you take something that was stolen before. But, nothing has been stolen from you and nothing has been stolen here in the Underground. I think, therefore, that it means you will steal the peaches – instead of writing politely for them. Unfortunately."

"How do we know it wasn't something from somewhere else that was stolen?"

"We do not. We must use what we think we have deciphered and hope things work themselves right in the end." He gestured to Alia's plate. "Are you finished? Shall we go look at the map?"

They walked to the library on the other side of the house. Alia could see faint moonlight reflecting off the pale stone of the colonnade outside the library's tall windows. Tieran took a long roll out of a cabinet and spread it on an oversized table nearby. As he weighted it down at the corners, Alia walked over to the table. She puzzled over the unintelligible place names.

"Come around to this side of the table. You are looking at it upside down," Tieran suggested.

Alia walked around the table to look at the map the right way up, but remained illiterate. Now that she looked at them longer, she noticed that the artist had written the labels in the same runic script she had seen briefly in the movie.

"We are here." Tieran pointed to a spot in a range of mountains on the map. "The Labyrinth is here." He pointed to an area some distance to the north of the mountains. What seemed to be a painstakingly precise drawing of a maze covered the area, but after a second look it blurred. She tried looking at it more closely, but still it distorted and shifted.

Tieran watched her. "You will give yourself a headache if you try to look at it for very long. The movement makes it difficult for your eyes to focus."

"You mean it really is moving?"

"Yes, the map updates itself continuously."

"The whole map?"

"Yes. Only Labyrinth changes fast enough to notice."

"Amazing. That would come in handy."

"Knowing where you are going does you no good if it has moved by the time you get there. In any case, you will not need a map for the Labyrinth. As you can see, the castle is on this side of the Labyrinth and the Goblin City. What you will need to do is travel through these mountains and forests and across this small desert to the castle."

"Over the mountains and through the woods to Jareth's house I go," Alia recited in a singsong voice. "What is this line here?" She pointed near the castle.

"That is the cliff the castle sits on. Unless we can find another way, I am afraid you will need to climb it."

"I fervently hope we find another way. I've never gone rock climbing in my life. What about the desert?"

"There is an oasis, here. I will try to direct you toward it. You also should be able to carry enough water with you to make it across in two nights."

"How am I going to get back out without Jareth catching me? Assuming he doesn't catch me in the act?"

"You could come back the same way. Or I could transport you with magic, but doing that would alert Jareth. That is why you are traveling on foot and why I cannot go with you. He would feel the magic and, by general agreement, we do not enter others' lands without permission. I will only be able to transport you back if he does not prevent it in some way."

"What about keeping in contact with me? You said you were going to do that. What will we use? Radios? Smoke signals?"

"No, that will be a low, constant level of magic. It will blend in with the natural background levels of magic and he will not notice it."

"That's convenient. I hope you're right. I don't see how I'll make it back on foot, though. He would be able to catch up too easily. What is the rest of the map?"

"Other lands in the Underground. Many of the lands you read about in your stories are in the Underground. It is the land of your fantasies and fairy tales."

Alia yawned despite her interest.

"You should go to bed if you are going to leave tomorrow. Do you remember the way to your room?"

"I think so."

"I will see you tomorrow morning, then. I have a few things to finish yet. Good night."

Alia left Tieran in the library and found her way back to her room. She found a nightgown in the wardrobe and continued looking at the clothes, trying to find things suitable for the journey now that she had some idea of what she would encounter. She could not think of anything that would work everywhere. Alia gave up for the night, changed and went to bed.

.....

...he must rescue the Prince...he sees the scaffold, tries to climb to the top of the skeleton structure...something prevents him from reaching the top, from pulling himself over the edge...the Enemies could be anywhere...he sees the stack of thin metallic disks within his reach and desperately grabs them before the enemy removes them...the disks are crucial...he must have all of them...the sharp edges of the individual disks bite into his fingers and palm...one hand is not enough to hold him on the platform and he begins to fall...magic cannot save him...he falls awkwardly, but lands on his feet on the hard packed ground, turns and runs from the enemy...she runs along the chain link fence through the soft, sandy, orange dirt...it drags at her feet...she sinks in up to her ankles and higher...it sucks at her feet and legs, slowing her down more the faster she tries to run from the Enemy...

He rolled over wildly, throwing off the covers, and nearly fell out of the bed. He caught himself and lay near the edge of the bed breathing heavily. He had had another one of those dreams that he had been having for weeks now – for so long that there was a familiarity about them.

But now, after weeks of essentially the same dream over and over, this one had changed. Instead of waking up falling or running as had happened most times before, there was the young woman. He ran his hands through his hair in perplexity. Where did she come from?

He called for a goblin to bring him something to drink. He received not even a snore in response. Sitting up and looking around, he could see no goblin anywhere in the room.

"Damn, another one gone. One of the more intelligent ones, too."

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, and trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belongs to the Jim Henson Company.

That map that changes? That really isn't mine. I originally borrowed that idea from a book called Castle Roogna by Piers Anthony. Only, in the book, it isn't a map but a tapestry hanging on the wall playing history back for a character who watches it like television. And of course nowadays there's the Marauder's Map from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, but this was before I'd read that.


	6. Chapter 6

Alia woke to someone opening the drapes in her room. The noise woke her, not the light, for a dim predawn twilight still reigned outside. "What time is it?" she asked the figure at the window.

"Not quite so early as it looks." The figure turned away from the window and turned up a lamp. "I'm Irielen. Tieran sent me to wake you and help you with anything you need."

The dim figure at the window coalesced into an attractive woman with blond hair who looked no more than 10 years older than Alia. She was not at all what Alia had imagined. For some reason, Alia expected an older woman, perhaps grandmotherish, with a kind and efficient air. Irielen did indeed have a kind and efficient air about her from what Alia had seen so far, but nothing grandmotherly.

"Is something wrong?" Irielen asked when she turned and saw Alia staring at her.

"No, nothing. It's just that you are not at all what I expected from the way Tieran talked about you."

"Oh? Better or worse than expected?"

"Neither. Younger, different, that's all." Alia threw off the covers and quickly put on the heavy robe laying across the foot of the bed for there was still a chill in the air.

"There is some cocoa and fruit on the table by the window if you want something to eat. Tieran will meet you at breakfast later. Did you need any help with anything?"

"I tried to pick out something to wear for the journey last night, but I'm not really sure what to bring. Do you have any suggestions?" she asked as she poured herself some cocoa.

Irielen looked in the wardrobe and came back with a few pieces. "This should work. Tieran wants you to meet him in the library before breakfast."

After Irielen left Alia went to take a shower, lingering in it to enjoy the last hot water she figured she would see for a while. "I'll have to get used to the idea of a cold bath in a stream since that seems to be all the heroes in the fantasies and fairy tales get."

When she got out of the bathroom she noticed the light outside had increased considerably and stepped out on the balcony to quickly check how the day was starting. The sun had not yet risen over the mountains on her right. Off to the left, she could see a shimmering mist in the vicinity of the lake. Only a few wispy clouds drifted overhead to catch pink and gold from the sunrise. Below her, a lawn stretched to the forest where birds greeted the sun early. She realized she was looking north, the direction she would travel, and she scanned the mountains looking for a sign of the pass and path she would follow. She could see nothing in this light and turned to go back inside, shivering.

When Alia arrived in the library, Tieran sat at a small side table, studying a volume in front of him. He looked up when he heard her come in and smiled.

"Good, you found your way back down here. Did you sleep well?"

"Like a log."

"Good. I have been working all night," he said and rubbed his eyes. Closing the book, he walked across the room to replace it. "I asked them to place breakfast in the sun room so we will have the morning sun while we eat."

They ate breakfast among the tropical plants in the sun room, choosing from the wide selection that ranged from familiar eggs and bacon to fruits and dishes Alia had never seen before.

"Irielen helped me find clothing to wear on the journey," Alia said between bites. "She's not what I expected."

"No?"

"No, for some reason I expected someone older, more grandmotherly." She laughed slightly. "Like Mrs. Doubtfire, I suppose."

Tieran smiled, amused, "Grandmotherly, eh? She is older than she looks. We all are. Almost everyone in the Underground lives longer than people in your world."

"Like how old? Sorry, that's rude. My curiosity running away with me again. She looks like she would be in her early 30s in my world. You look a little older than that."

Tieran shook his head, smiling and dismissing it as he sipped one of the juices Alia had never seen before, "Irielen would never forgive me for telling her age, though. I will say that I have known her for longer than 30 years. As for me, I am not as old as the Goblin King. He has ruled for as long as I can remember."

The reference to her quest dampened Alia's mood. "It's not going to be easy to get past him, is it?" she asked as she toyed with the remains of the breakfast she had just been enjoying.

"No, but we will find a way. We must. I do not want to be responsible for someone being dunked in the Bog of Eternal Stench and dropped in an oubliette."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"And he will come looking for me after he takes care of you. He will probably come looking even if you get out without a close encounter with the Bog. There are consequences for meddling in another's kingdom, prophecy or no prophecy."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"There is no reason you would have. Perhaps we will have adjoining oubliettes and can tap messages to each other."

"I don't suppose we have some secret Goblin King-stunning weapon?"

"No, that would only make the consequences worse. All we have is this," Tieran pulled a small bundle of black silk out of a fold of his robe and held it out to her. "Your surprise. Go ahead, take it," he nodded. "That is what I was working on all night."

Alia took the small handful of silk. It lay heavily in her hand. She carefully unfolded the layers until finally a pendant on a gold chain lay exposed on the silk in the palm of her hand. She held it up by the chain. A greenish stone clasped by a pair of gryphons with silver heads and wings and golden lion haunches hung from the chain. "Is that a piece of the stone I found?"

"Yes, that is what I needed it back for. Put it on."

Alia slipped the chain over her head. It was not as heavy as she thought it would be.

_"Do you like it?"_

"Yes, thank you, it's beau–?"she stopped and looked up at Tieran. "You didn't say that did you? I didn't hear that."

"No, I thought it to you. That is how we will communicate. Does it bother you?"

"I don't know. It goes both ways? You can hear – or maybe feel is closer – me, too?"

"If you concentrate. Since you found the stone you should be able to do it easily."

"Easily?"

"As long as you wear the pendant."

_"Like this?"_

_"Yes, exactly. I am glad you like it, because you will need to wear it for some time."_ Rising, he said out loud, "If you are ready to go, I will get the rest of your supplies and meet you up at your room. Knowing Irielen, she has long finished whatever she was doing and is working on packing things for you, or something equally efficient and useful."

"All right."

Tieran had judged correctly, for when Alia returned to her room, she found Irielen bustling about. She had set out the clothing for Alia to try on and had even assembled a small bag of necessary items such as a toothbrush.

"Tieran said he would bring everything else up here. I'll go change."

She changed her clothes and had Irielen help her sash the blouse in at the waist and tuck the pants into the boots.

"There. Is that comfortable? Not too tight anywhere is it?"

"No, it feels fine," Alia said as she dropped the pendant down inside the neck of the blouse. At that moment Tieran knocked at the door.

"Come in," Irielen replied.

Tieran opened the door and entered, carrying a satchel and a knapsack. "You seem to have gone native."

"Don't tease," Irielen scolded.

_"And you thought she was not very grandmotherly."_ Tieran sent to Alia privately while he meekly apologized. Alia bit her lower lip, not knowing whether to be offended at the first remark or laugh at the second.

"This," he said, holding up the satchel and handing it to Alia, "has your food and water. This," he held out the knapsack, "has other things you might need. Knife, blanket, rope, bandages."

"I hope I don't need bandages."

"Just trying to emulate one of your Boy Scouts. Can you think of anything else she needs?" Tieran asked Irielen as she placed the small bag she had assembled into the knapsack.

"Besides a small army? No, I think we've covered everything." She handed the knife she had taken from the knapsack to Alia. "Tuck that under your sash where you can reach it easily. It's no use to you packed away."

"Then we should go. Are you coming?" Tieran asked Irielen.

"No, I can say goodbye just as well here as there. And I have things to do." She turned to Alia and kissed her on the cheek, "Good luck, dear. You. Do not forget to let me know if you are not coming back tonight," she admonished Tieran and left the room.

Tieran rolled his eyes and made a face as he picked up the knapsack and slung it over his shoulder. Alia had already slipped the strap of the satchel over her head and wore it across her body.

"Ready?" he asked and held out his hands. "We are going to the northern edge of the valley."

Alia took his hands and closed her eyes.

The song of birds, scent of pine and sweet smell she could not identify hung in the air, stirred only a little by a light breeze. She opened her eyes to a clearing on a ridge between mountain peaks. Small, brilliant yellow flowers covered the grass and must have been the source of the sweet odor.

"I was wrong," Alia giggled, "Are you sure she's not a grandmother? She acts so much like one, she must have practiced on someone. Or how about a nanny? She wasn't yours was she?"

"I never said she was not a grandmother. I really do not know her life story, but she was not my nanny. Not when I was a child, anyway. I had never noticed the way she treats me before you mentioned it. She is rather like a mother hen, fussing over everything," Tieran said with a laugh.

Alia giggled again, then stopped, remembering where she was. "Ahem. Um, so which way do I go?"

"That is the path to follow. The one heading into the trees there," Tieran pointed.

Alia took a deep breath. "Well, I'd better get started. I'll send a postcard from the Bog. 'Having a marvelous time. Wish you were here.'"

"Be careful. I do not want to have to explain your disappearance to Cara."

"Like I want to end up in an oubliette! I'll see you in a week." Alia walked down the slope toward the path, debating whether or not to turn at the edge of the trees and wave. She decided not to.

Tieran watched her until she disappeared into the trees, then retrieved the map from the table in the library to watch further.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc, belong to the Jim Henson Company.

You know those italics? There's a lot more to come. And since this was originally posted via email that didn't do italics they used to be plain text surrounded by double asterisks. Now I was going to change them to italics anyway, but now I _have_ to because for some reason FFnet doesn't recognize the asterisk. Anyway, the end result of all this is that it may slow down editing and posting a little.


	7. Chapter 7

Alia had walked for several hours through trees and more trees, when she came to a split in the path. _"Tieran?"_ she asked as she sat on a convenient fallen log to rest, _"The path divides. Do you know which way I should take?"_

_"What direction do the new paths lead in?"_

_"I don't know. Left and right. I can't tell. The sun looks directly overhead and the path has curved around some, so I don't know which way I'm headed now."_

_"This is the first fork you have encountered?"_

_"I haven't seen any others, but I can't guarantee I didn't miss one."_

_"I think I have found you on the map."_

_"How can you tell where I am? Do you have a tracker on me?"_

_"No, only a simple magnifying glass,"_ Tieran answered with a mental smile, then added with a little disappointment, _"You have not traveled as far as I thought you would have by now."_

_"That means this is going to take even longer."_ Alia sighed. _"Great. So which way do I head?"_

_"Go to the right."_

_"All right, I bear right,"_ she started down the right fork, trying to pick up her pace.

Alia's stomach soon started complaining. When she found an inviting rock in a small, sun-filled clearing, she stopped to rest and eat. She had just chosen some bread and a handful of nuts and dried fruit from the satchel, when a pair of ebony birds flew in under the edge of the trees and started foraging among the leaves. They called back and forth to each other, ignoring Alia.

_"Tieran, are you there?"_

_"Yes. What is it? Another turn?"_

_"No, I was just wondering if you knew what these birds are?"_ She concentrated on an image of the pair of birds. _"Can you see?"_

_"Yes. They look like mourning doves to me."_

_"That's what I thought they sounded like. But mourning doves are gray, not black."_

_"Gray? No, they are always black. That is why we call them mourning doves. Why would you call them mourning doves if they are not black?"_

Alia shrugged, forgetting that Tieran could not see her as they conversed. _"I always assumed it was because of the mournful sound they make. Is it safe to feed them?"_

_"What do you mean 'Is it safe to feed them?'"_

_"They don't turn into monsters or chase me down begging for more until I feed them all I have or anything like that?"_

_"No, they are perfectly normal birds. Wherever did you get that idea?"_ Alia could feel the amusement in his voice.

_"I didn't know and I wanted to be sure. Judging by the movie you've got fairies that bite, rocks that talk, creatures that dismember themselves for fun, and hands that grow on walls like fungus not to mention a fungus with eyeballs that grows on walls. I thought you might have monsters in dove's clothing."_ Alia fed the rest of her bread to the birds, even managing to coax one close enough for her to stroke its breast. After a while she remembered her reason for sitting here, in the middle of the forest, and decided she should get moving again. She stood up, startling the doves, which flew off deeper into the forest the way she had come. She arranged her satchel and knapsack and started off again.

A few hours later, but still several hours before sunset, Tieran contacted Alia. _"You should start looking for shelter. Try to find a cave. There is a strong storm moving in your direction."_

Alia looked up to find the clouds massing on the horizon. _"I'll keep an eye open for one, but I don't remember seeing anything so far."_

She was still looking a half hour later when the storm broke. In a few minutes the rain had soaked her to the skin, despite the semi-waterproof cloak she wore. "I had to worry about getting a shower," she thought.

_"I'm in the mountains and there's not a cave to be seen. Aren't mountains usually riddled with caves?"_

_"You could try standing under a tree,"_ Tieran suggested helpfully.

_"And be struck by lightning? No, thank you. A fried heroine will do nothing for your prophecy. Besides, I'm soaked now anyway, I might as well keep going as long as I can see."_

Alia finally spotted a promising dark opening in the slope of the mountainside. She had almost missed it in the gathering darkness and heavy rain. She veered off the path and headed for it, eager to get out of the downpour. She could not see any animal prints in the dry dirt inside the entrance of the large cave and she heard nothing from inside the dark cave, only the storm outside and the water running off her cloak.

She shrugged off the cloak, satchel and knapsack and sat near the mouth to look for a way to light a fire.

_"Matches!__ Thank goodness. I was afraid I'd have to figure out a flint and tinderbox."_

_"We do use some of your modern conveniences. You will still need something to burn."_

Alia groaned. There was no way she was going to find anything dry out in that downpour. _"I hope there's something in this cave, otherwise I'll never get a fire started."_ She looked back into the cave, into the almost palpable darkness. _"I don't suppose you packed something like a flashlight in that knapsack, did you?"_

_"There should be one. As I said, we do use some of your technology."_

Alia looked through the pack and could not find it. Before panicking, she started taking things out and laying them on the floor of the cave. She pulled out a small pan, but, not realizing it contained other things, she turned it sideways. Dishes and utensils fell with a clatter to the floor. As she nested them back together, Alia heard a noise from deep inside the cave. She froze, waiting for it to repeat. When she heard nothing more, she finished replacing the utensils and continued going through the knapsack. Finally, at the very bottom, she found the flashlight. She flipped the switch, and a circle of light appeared on the opposite wall.

Alia shone the light toward the blackness of the back of the cave and still saw nothing. "It must be deeper than I thought," she said to herself. She crisscrossed the floor, working her way back into the cave, but found nothing, not so much as a twig.

The flashlight flickered, then steadied, then flickered again. Alia shook it and flipped the switch on and off. The light steadied and she went on. Just as she caught a glimpse of something on the floor, it flickered again and went out. She shook it again and flipped the switch. There was no response from the light.

"Water must have run down into it," she muttered. "Great." _"Tieran, next time make sure the flashlight is waterproof. And tell Irielen I should have brought a change of clothes after all."_ She looked back toward the mouth of the cave. She could still see the outline of the opening, but just barely.

Alia tucked the flashlight under her sash and got down on her hands and knees, feeling for whatever she had seen just before the flashlight died. She hoped for a large branch, as unlikely as that would be this deep within the cave.

She reached further and further, making wider and wider circles with her hands, but still found nothing. Turning to look for the opening, she found she could no longer distinguish it from the surrounding darkness. She moved to sit more comfortably, waiting for another lightning strike to light the sky and show her the opening. As she moved, the flashlight slipped from her sash and hit the stone floor with a resounding crack. As she felt for it she again heard a noise from deep in the cave. The noise resolved itself into a rustling – closer this time – that did not stop. She ducked down expecting the bats seen in all the horror movies.

"Bats would be good," she reminded herself. "They will show me the way out. But I'm still not getting in their way."

The breeze of their passing stirred her hair and clothing and she made a note of the direction, but sat still waiting for them all to pass. Eventually, no more soft wings and bodies brushed lightly against her arms over her head, but still the noise continued. She peered blindly back into the cave. Suddenly, two silver lines of light appeared and gradually widened.

_"Tieran, there's something in the cave with me. I think it's something big."_

_"Are you sure it is not bats?"_

_"No, the bats were smart and just got the hell out of here."_ She started backing from the lights toward what she hoped was the cave mouth. _"I'm seeing two silver lights. They look like eyes."_

"Who is there? Who is it that disturbs me?" demanded a powerful voice.

_"It talks! Tieran what do I do?"_

"Who are you ? I know you are there. I can hear you, see you, smell you." It was a low, hypnotic voice, warm and soothing.

_"Well, answer it."_ Tieran prodded Alia.

"M-my name is Alia."

"Alia, why do you disturb me?"

"I did not intend to disturb you. I sincerely apologize. I only sought shelter from the storm," Alia explained, then, almost as an afterthought, added, "May I ask your name?"

"You may call me Arten'barad."

_"Arten'barad! She is just a legend, thought to have died long ago,"_ Tieran exclaimed. _"She was – is – one of the great dragons. Be very polite,"_ he warned.

"Are you the Arten'barad, the dragon of legends?"

"Am I a legend?" the voice sounded surprised. "I did not realize that. I know that I am Arten'barad and that I am a great dragon."

"You have not been seen in a long time. You are now presumed dead or thought only a legend."

"That would explain the lack of visitors lately," the voice said thoughtfully, the line of eyes nodding. Then they narrowed and turned at an angle. "But that does not explain why you are here."

"I sought shelter from the storm."

"Yes, you said that, but why are you traveling through the mountains?"

"I suppose you could say I am on a quest. I have to get something to save a friend."

"I see." The eyes narrowed further and came closer. "This quest does not have anything to do with dragons, does it?" The tone implied that if it did it would likely not last much longer.

"N-no, definitely not. Fruit. Peaches to be exact."

"Peaches?" The eyes widened and drew up and back. "What has the world come to when gardening is a quest?"

"I am supposed to steal magic peaches from the Goblin King to heal a friend," Alia added quickly.

"The Goblin King?" The eyes returned from their musing and focused again on Alia. "What is his name?"

"Jareth." Alia shivered.

"Ah, so Jareth is still the King. Trying to fool him, eh?" The eyes and voice registered amusement. "You have your work cut out for you there."

"It-t seems th-that way," Alia managed to get out through her chattering teeth.

"Are you cold? Why do you not have a fire?" suddenly the voice grew concerned.

"I was looking back here for dry wood when I disturbed you."

"You will find no wood in here. You will need to go out to gather some."

"I was afraid of that. I hope it will light. Everything is drenched out there. I'm soaked to the skin."

"Then you will not notice a little more wet will you? Do not worry about lighting it. I will take care of that."

"Why does everyone I meet here sound like my mother?" Alia wondered to herself. Aloud she asked, "Which way is out, please?"

"Turn around. Walk forward. The floor is flat, you will not trip. Bear a little left. That is better. Keep walking. Do you see the entrance, now?"

"Yes, I see it. Thank you."

Alia retrieved her sodden cloak from the pile of things she had left near the entrance and went out to search for wood. Most of the storm had passed by this time. The peak of the mountain behind her shielded her from the remaining flashes of lightning. The downpour had let up from a deluge to a steady rain. She headed for the trees to gather an armload of fallen branches.

"You will need more wood than that to last the night. Gather as much as you can find," Arten'barad advised from the darkness at the back of the cave when Alia returned.

While making the next trip, Alia thought of something, "Tieran, is this safe? Spending the night in a cave with a dragon?"

_"If she was going to eat you she would have done so by now. She is not an ordinary dragon, but a great dragon. They are much more intelligent and are not known for eating people,"_ Tieran reassured her. _"The lesser dragons have the nasty habits that gave dragons a bad name. Arten'barad is not even an ordinary great dragon. She was always different, spending more time with other species than most dragons. That is one reason why she became a legend when she disappeared."_

_"Okay,"_ Alia replied dubiously. _"As long as you think it's safe."_

_"Just how would you leave? You might offend her by trying and that would be dangerous. It is always best to stay on a dragon's good side."_

_"Yeah, I see what you mean."_

It took several more trips before Alia satisfied the dragon with the amount of wood she had gathered. Arten'barad then had Alia arrange some of it in the middle of the cave well back from the entrance, a challenging task to do in the dark, solely on the dragon's verbal instruction.

"That will do. Stand well back. It has been some time since I have done this."

Alia backed up against the wall near the entrance. Hearing the dragon move closer to the front of the cave, she pressed herself flat against the wall. A brilliant flare of flames caused Alia to turn her head and throw her arm up to shield her face and eyes. Then the light dimmed and she dropped her arm, blinking against the light until her eyes adjusted to the relative brilliance of the fire.

Once she could see, Alia turned to look across the fire at the creature she had been talking to for the past hour. The silver of the eyes flowed on and on, curled and coiled on the floor of the cave, finally reaching the tip of her tail. Alia understood one reason for calling Arten'barad a great dragon, for her head alone outmassed a small automobile. A shaded black streak running from the tip of her muzzle up between her eyes and continuing as a crest from her head down the back of her neck contrasted with the silver.

Arten'barad looked pleased with herself. "Just right." She looked at Alia. "You may come closer. I will not eat you. Come warm yourself."

"I know. I mean, I'm sure you wouldn't. You're just...larger than I expected." She gathered her things and brought them closer to the fire.

"If you take your wet clothes off you will warm faster and they will dry faster. Do you have a blanket in there somewhere?" She looked at the pile of things Alia had pulled out of the knapsack earlier.

"Yes, there's a blanket."

"Then I suggest that you wrap yourself in it and hang your wet clothes on several branches to dry," Arten'barad rose and delicately stepped over the fire. "If you will excuse me for a while, I think I will see what is happening out in the world these days."

Alia pressed herself against the wall as the dragon passed, despite the room to spare. She waited until the full length of Arten'barad's long tail passed over the fire, then she ran to the entrance of the cave. It had stopped raining and the storm clouds were unraveling. She reached the mouth of the cave in time to see Arten'barad, in a beam of moonlight breaking through the clouds, stretching out her wings and taking off. Alia watched the dragon fly until she could no longer pick the dragon out from among the clouds and stars, then returned to the fire.

She got the knack of propping the sticks up after a few tries. After hanging the wet clothes on them, she wrapped herself in the blanket and found herself something to eat. She was combing out her thick hair, trying to get it to dry faster, when Arten'barad came back.

The dragon curled herself up in the entrance of the cave and stared at the fire. She reminded Alia of a contented cat – Alia almost expected her to start purring. Alia worried that the dragon blocked the whole mouth of the cave, but the dragon soon explained herself.

"I am blocking the entrance not to keep you in, but to keep the cold out. You may leave in your blanket and wet clothes any time you wish." Arten'barad radiated amusement, but did not smile, for which mercy Alia was extremely thankful. She did not think she could quite handle a dragon's smile yet. Alia shivered and pulled the blanket closer around herself. When she did so, something caught Arten'barad's eye and the dragon swung her head around for a closer look.

"Ah, so you have been talking to one of them. I thought you were speaking with someone, but I did not see how or whom. I knew that family once. Who is the head of it now?"

"Family?" Alia frowned, extremely confused.

"I saw the pendant hanging from the chain around your neck. Those gryphons are the symbol of the Artali family. Or they were."

"I don't know anything about that family. I've never heard the name before. The person who gave it to me only introduced himself as Tieran. He didn't give me a family name." _"Is it your family she is talking about?"_

_"Yes, that is my family's name."_

"I do not recognize that name. He must be after my time."

_"Ask her for the last name she remembers."_

"He says that is his family name and would like to know the last name you remember."

"Ah..." The dragon closed her eyes thinking. "The last head of the family I remember was..." she shook her massive head, "...no, that was much earlier. I believe the last one was Meidat."

_"That was my grandfather's name."_

"He says that was his grandfather's name."

Arten'barad nodded, "He was very young when I knew him and had just succeeded his father. Why do you wear the pendant and mind speak with Tieran s'Artali?"

Alia narrated the whole story, explaining Cara's illness, the movie on television, the prophecy.

"I remember hearing about the prophecy, but I never heard the text of it. A traveling prophetess passed through Jareth's kingdom when he was young and foretold it. It was never made public, only rumors, but evidently someone heard enough of it and wrote it down for it to surface now. Tieran is convinced that it has implications for the Underground as a whole, not only you and your friend?"

"He thinks it is important somehow."

"It will be interesting to watch. In the meantime, I will also enjoy watching to see if you can outsmart Jareth. The expression on his face..." This time the dragon permitted herself a small smile, imagining the Goblin King's reaction, and the tip of her tail twitched with her anticipation and enjoyment.

"Outsmarting him seems to be only part of the task. I will still need to get away from him afterward. That will take a lot of luck."

"Yes, ...or friends in high places."

"Which I don't have."

"I could very easily take you wherever you like once you make it out of the castle. I could also take you part of the way there. Not all of the way, mind you, we would attract too much attention, but perhaps as far as this side of the desert would be safe."

"Would you really do that?"

"I would not mention it otherwise."

"That is very kind of you, thank you."

"Just see that you succeed. I would wholeheartedly enjoy that."

"I doubt I would have much need of you if I should fail."

"No, most likely not."

…..

...he falls, but lands on his feet...turns to run from the along the fence...she tries to run through the soft, sandy dirt...it slows her...she is certain they pursue her...tries to run around the end of the fence into the crowd...she feels the whole crowd looking for her but no one sees her...no one recognizes her...no one notices her clutching the disks...stumbling and staggering through more of the sandy soil under the green grass...it trips her up and pulls at her...she falls to her knees...staggers on...must get out of the crowd and reach the center of the field...if she can reach the desert she can lose herself in it and rest...must reach the center and the desert...

_"Alia, wake up. Wake up, Alia."_

"Alia?" She opened her eyes to find herself staring into the huge face of a concerned dragon.

"You have been dreaming and projecting it," Arten'barad explained.

_"How long have you been having this dream?"_ Tieran asked.

"Dreaming? What dream?" Alia sat up, clutching at the blanket.

The dragon and Tieran explained what they had so vividly experienced.

Alia ran a hand through her hair. "I don't remember that dream. I know I've been dreaming lately. Only I never remember what I dream. If I have been dreaming for a while," she mused, "it would explain why the Goblin King in the movie seemed so familiar. So now what? If I was broadcasting it, have I blown my cover? How far do you think it went?"

_"I do not think you have 'blown your cover.' Jareth would have found you by now if you had."_

"If you take off the pendant when you sleep, it should not happen again," the dragon advised.

_"That might be best, before you do attract his attention."_

Alia slipped the chain over her head to place it in her pack and composed herself for sleep again. After staring into the embers of the fire for some time without sleeping, she ventured a question to Arten'barad.

"Arten'barad?"

"Yes." The dragon's eyes opened halfway.

"Why do you think I am so important to the Underground? Why am I in a prophecy?"

The dragon shifted a little and resettled herself before answering. "I do not know. As I said, I never heard the prophecy before today. Perhaps, since you must go to the Labyrinth, it is time for a new Goblin King and you will play a role in selecting the replacement. Perhaps you will become Goblin Queen."

"I hope not," Alia said emphatically. "I'm messy, but I could never live like that."

The dragon chuckled, "Go to sleep. There will be time enough to worry about your place in the great scheme of things tomorrow. Worry about the housekeeping after you become Queen."

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.

Eveything else is mine, including Arten'barad, although what I'm going to feed her, I haven't a clue.


	8. Chapter 8

Alia awoke again the next morning to the sound of birds singing and an empty cave. At first disoriented, her memory came flooding back when she saw the banked fire with her now dried clothing hanging nearby. She fed the fire and dressed, then made herself a breakfast of some fresh fruit that had been hiding in some corner of the satchel along with what seemed to be a relative of oatmeal.

After cleaning up and repacking everything, she doused the fire. There was still no sign of Arten'barad when she went outside, but the view was spectacular. Orienting herself by the sun, she found the cave faced to the northeast and that by climbing on a nearby outcropping of rock, she could see to the north. The cave opened above the tree line and she could see beyond the mountains to the distant foothills. Beyond the foothills, she could see a faint blue haze.

She wondered how much longer it would take her to reach the desert. How rugged were the foothills? They looked gently rolling at this distance. And how long would it take her to get through the mountains if Arten'barad did not return?

She was pondering how long to wait for the dragon, when a sixth sense urged her to turn around. She had just enough time to fall backward against an upright rock and think she was breakfast, before Arten'barad rushed overhead. The dragon then circled around and landed in the clearing in front of the cave.

Arten'barad looked at her, concerned, as she remained leaning against the rock. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Alia, still stunned, managed to find her voice, "No, I think I'm fine. I didn't hurt myself, but you frightened me. That was like being buzzed by a commercial airliner, only quieter. May I ask, was there a reason for it or was it just excess exuberance?"

"Completely exuberance, I think. It is a wonderful morning for flying. Are you ready?"

"I'm packed and the fire is out. Um...How are we going to do this?"

"I will hold you. Come here."

Alia secured her knapsack and satchel comfortably on her shoulders before she approached the dragon. Arten'barad sat back on her haunches and tail. Alia studied the dragon as she approached the huge creature. Alia usually imagined dragon wings as immense batlike sails of fine membrane and Arten'barad's matched that picture perfectly. Fine scales, only metallic enough to give her a faint sheen, closer to pearlescent than a chrome glare, covered the dragon. The talons on the dragon's handlike forefeet, solid black and menacingly sharp, measured nearly as long as Alia's forearm.

"Ahem," Alia cleared her throat nervously. "So is this close enough?"

Arten'barad grasped Alia around the waist, or more accurately, from the chest down. Alia expected hard sharp scales, but found them soft and pliable like the scales of a snake she had once held.

"Do not worry I will not drop you," Arten'barad reassured her. "Am I holding you too tightly? Can you still breathe easily?"

"I'm fine so fa-a-r-r-r-r!" Alia's reply turned to a startled yell as Arten'barad lifted her off the ground. "I wish you had warned me before you did that! You may not drop me but you could give me a heart atta-a-a-a-c-k!" Alia cried out again as the dragon leapt into the air.

Alia clutched Arten'barad's talon for dear life and kept her eyes shut tight. She had left her stomach behind and her heart beat rapidlyagainst her ribcage.

"Calm yourself. I will not drop you."

"I know you won't. I can tell myself that over and over, but my instincts still tell me I don't belong up here. It takes a while for my mind to win out over my body." By degrees Alia relaxed her grip and opened her eyes once in a while. Eventually, she began to enjoy the view.

Arten'barad flew close among the mountains. Soon they reached the foothills of the mountain range. Arten'barad descended to land some way into them, but the desert still shimmered faint and blue in the distance.

Arten'barad carefully set Alia down in a valley. "This is as far as it is safe for me to take you. You must travel the rest of the distance on your own."

"Even this much is a great help. Thank you. How will you know if I need you later?"

"I heard your dream last night. I should be able to hear if you call for me."

"All right. Thank you again for all your help," Alia paused awkwardly. "Ah, I guess I should be going. With any luck you will hear from me soon."

"I hope so."

Alia turned to go, heading the direction she remembered from the air.

"One last piece of advice," called out the dragon. Alia stopped and turned to listen. "Jareth can be very persuasive when he wants. Remember that if he catches you and think long and well before believing what he says."

"I'll try to remember that. Thank you."

Arten'barad launched herself into the air and flew off. Alia watched her for a short while then continued on to the north. At this point the foothills were lightly forested, but if she remembered what she had seen from the air correctly, the trees would not last long, giving way to what had looked like shrubs and grasses.

The flight to the foothills not having taken all of the morning, Alia walked for some time before taking a short stop to eat some lunch and then continue on to the north. By afternoon the few trees remaining grew distorted and blighted, like the ones she had seen in the Bog in the movie. The climate also grew warmer and drier as the foothills lowered in altitude.

Alia's mind wandered as she walked, finally fixing on memories of Cara. She had gone hiking once with Cara. Usually Alia avoided camping and its close relations, but Cara had pestered her so long and relentlessly that Alia had finally given in just for the sake of some peace and quiet. Alia remembered a conversation they had had on that hike.

"So are you having fun?" Cara had asked.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Alia grudgingly admitted.

"See? I told you. Things are never as bad as you think they'll be."

"I don't know," Alia grumbled as she flailed at a passing insect. "I may be eaten alive yet."

"Sometimes I don't understand you. You're always studying those ancient things. I'd think you'd be more tolerant of roughing it and bugs. All those historical figures had to live with them."

"Just because I study them, doesn't mean I want to live like them. If anything it makes me appreciate air conditioning and window screens and refrigerators and bug spray even more. And speaking of roughing it, weren't you the one who wanted one of those houses where the computer controls everything? The temperature, the microwave, the lights, the television. So that you wouldn't need to do anything?"

"That's different. This is for fun."

"Says you."

Alia smiled at the memory. "Wouldn't Cara be surprised at me now? Trekking across country voluntarily. And without any bug spray."

She still had not reached the desert by sunset. As a nearly full moon rose, she decided to continue walking for a while and ate as she walked. Then she remembered Tieran.

_"Tieran, you there?__ I forgot about you."_

_"I had noticed,"_ he answered dryly.

_"How's my progress?"_

_"Much better than yesterday.__ The foothills should start leveling out soon."_

_"They're already getting lower. Do you think I'll reach the desert tonight if I keep walking?"_

_"If you continue walking you might reach it at about dawn."_

_"Then I could sleep during the day like you suggested. I think I'll try to do that. You didn't even hear me yell when Arten'barad took off?"_

_"When was that? This morning? No, I did not hear or feel anything."_

_"She scared the life out of me. First, she dived at me. Have you ever been buzzed by a dragon that size? Then she picked me up off the ground and took off without warning me first. It's been quite a day."_

_"Have you had any problems?"_

_"No, still have plenty of food and water. The flashlight doesn't work of course, but I haven't lost anything. I was scared silly this morning, but no injuries."_

_"Keep me informed." _He sounded rushed. _"I must go now. Irielen wants me for some decision or other."_

_"OK. 10-4. Over and out."_

_"Pardon me?"_

_"Never mind. It's slang from my world. I'll let you know if anything happens."_

Alia walked until the moon approached the horizon and she was dragging her feet. Despite the easy ride from the dragon in the morning, it had been a long day. From the next rise she climbed, Alia spied the desert in the distance, pale and gray in the colorless moonlight. She decided to stop the next time she found a stream, allowing her to easily fill up on water before she started late that afternoon.

As if she had conjured it up by thinking about it, she stumbled across a stream, literally, as she descended that hill. She walked into it and then looked for a way to cross it dry shod before she remembered that she meant to stop here anyway. So she found a flat grassy spot, dropped her gear, pulled out the blanket to wrap herself in, and fell asleep immediately.

She forgot to remove the pendant, but fortunately, she slept deeply with no dreams.

.….

Jareth paced the floor of his room. His day had started badly. He had been lounging in his throne room as usual, observing the remnants of his goblin hordes with his usual boredom and a few not so usual nigglings of concern over the state of things – if this kept up he would have to call in his netgoblins from the field just to staff the castle – when a panic attack and then acrophobia suddenly seized him. He had managed to just clutch at the arm and back of his throne, hiding the attack from the none-too-observant goblins, while it gradually subsided, leaving him light-headed and a little dizzy. The rest of the day had been uneventful, beyond the disappearing goblins, until now.

Now, sleep eluded him. He had lain in bed for hours counting sheep, goblins, crystals, fireys, and fairies. He had tried making some warm milk for himself (the cook was among the missing goblins). He had tried sitting in a warm bath until he looked like a prune. He had tried reading the driest book he could find and only got a paper cut for his troubles. He even tried watching the golf cable channel from Earth, but got an infomercial instead, barely stopping himself from buying a hair care system and a food dehydrator. (He was still considering the vacuum storage system – it might keep the chickens out of his off-season wardrobe.) So now, as a last resort and for lack of a better occupation, he paced.

Finally, he decided to try to find his physician's chambers. He had no idea where to find them. In the usual order of things, he called, the physician came. Now, not only was there no one to fetch the physician, there was no physician to fetch. According to the dubious source of his remaining goblins, the physician had been one of the first to disappear. Some of the dumbest ones claimed he had never existed to begin with.

After much wandering, he discovered more guest quarters than he cared to count (would he ever really want that many people visiting him at once?), broom closets (the goblins obviously did not know they existed), and storerooms (what was he storing in all these rooms?). He was about to give up, when he located the physician's quarters.

He had planned to find some sort of sedative already prepared or, failing that, look it up and prepare one himself. Of course, the physician had not labeled any of the jars and vials on the many shelves with anything that sounded like a sleeping draught, so he turned to the books and scrolls. Luck finally graced him and he found a formula in the first book he picked up. He mixed the ingredients together and transported himself back to his room. Once there, he drank the concoction and waited for it to work as the moon set and dawn approached.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	9. Chapter 9

Alia woke mid afternoon, stifled and hot, with the woolen blanket over her head. She untangled herself and found herself bruised and sore from sleeping on a few well placed rocks and the long walk of the day before. With a great deal of groaning and suffering she washed her face in the stream then sat down again next to her pack and started looking through it for the first aid kit.

_"Tieran, that kit with the bandages and stuff in it that you packed, does it have aspirin in it?"_

_"Aspirin?"_

_"Yeah, I'm so sore I can barely move. Did you pack anything that helps that?"_

_"Yes, there is a bark in there that should help you."_

_"No convenient pills?"_

_"No, you will need to make a tea from it."_

_"Ohhh,"_ she groaned, _"that means I have to get up and get wood for a fire again. At least there are matches."_ Slowly, painfully, Alia got up, gathered wood and built a fire. She put some water on and then looked through the first aid kit again, Tieran helping her identify what and how much she needed.

As she watched the water, waiting for it to boil, she thought to herself, "As long as I have the fire I might as well make myself a decent breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Whatever." Looking through the satchel she found more oatmeal and, to her surprise, more fruit, this time something similar to purple strawberries.

_"Okay, Tieran, what's with the bag? I keep finding fruit in it and I am almost positive that there wasn't any left in it after yesterday morning. How's it getting in the satchel? I thought you couldn't do magic because Jareth would catch you?"_

_"I am not doing any magic. The satchel has held the fruit and many other things all along."_

_"So why isn't it squashed?"_ She thought she had him there.

_"It is not always there in the bag. There is a possibility of it being there each time you reach in. It is stored in a pocket in another dimension."_

_"So I can eat anything I want, as long as it is in there?"_

_"Yes, whatever you like. Whatever you think of or expect, it will provide the closest item it has."_

_"You mean, I've been eating dried fruit because that is what I expected? How did I get the fresh fruit? I wasn't expecting that."_

_"You must have thought about it."_

_"Then I'm getting something better than oatmeal for breakfast."_ Deciding on more fruit, some muffins and croissants, she drank the tea and cleaned up. She would have liked waffles or pancakes, but thought that might be pushing things. Whether from the food, the tea, or just moving around and loosening up, she was feeling better already.

She checked to make sure she had completely extinguished the fire. "Wouldn't want to fulfill the prophecy by burning down half the Underground, now would we?" Picking her way across the stream, she continued northward through the last remnants of the foothills.

As she crested the last hill between herself and the desert she found to her amazement that the desert had not been blue with the distance, but was in fact blue by nature, the pale silvery blue of a sky suffused with a dusty haze. She could not see where the desert ended and the sky began.

"It's blue!" _"Tieran, did you know the desert's blue?"_

Tieran popped her bubble. _"Yes, of course. That is why they call it the Desert of the Sky. You have reached it then?"_

_"I'm standing on the last hill,"_ Alia confirmed.

_"Look to the northern horizon. You should be able to see a spire."_

_"Is that the castle? Either it is bigger than I thought or it's a lot closer than I thought."_

_"Remember, it sits on a high cliff. That allows you to see it at a further distance."_

_"Well, I can see it, now what?"_

_"If you want to reach the oasis you will need to aim a little to the east of the spire. Start walking and I will try to correct you as you go."_

Alia half walked, half slid down the steep hill to the desert floor. As she approached, the heat reflected back up at her with increasing intensity. She struck out across the desert, aiming just east of north, as the afternoon waned.

The sun went down and the temperature of the air above the sand started to drop soon after, as the sand released the last of its absorbed heat. The moon rose, turning the sand even more silver.

The hours passed and Alia made occasional course corrections at Tieran's guidance, a little more east, a little more west. All the dunes looked the same, up one side, down the other; she felt as though she walked nowhere, climbing the same dune over and over.

After midnight, she discerned a dark smudge against the silver of the sand on the horizon directly in front of her, but it refused to grow larger and more distinct as she traveled.

Suddenly, the smudge appeared much larger and closer, allowing her to pick out the individual trees. Alia was entering among the palms, when an apparition manifested itself in front of her. After a second look, Alia found herself confronted, not by a ghost, but by a scarecrow of a genie, trying to look threatening.

On his tall, thin frame he wore an oversized vest and undersized pants. He had put his genie's cap, also several sizes too big, on at a lopsided angle, but despite this it still slid down over both ears. He wore genie slippers with turned up toes, but even these were defective and too long. He looked as though he had cobbled his entire costume together from remnants that no other genie wanted.

"No one may approach who does not know the password," he boomed in a deep voice meant to be imposing, but when contrasted with his appearance only achieved ludicrous.

"Password? What is this? Arabian nights?"

"No one may enter without the password," he boomed, continuing with the charade.

"So what is this, a private oasis? It's not like you get many customers going to or from the Labyrinth through the desert. Okay, I'll play along. How about 'Open Sesame?'"

"Invalid password."

"Alakazam?"

"Invalid –" his voice broke and squeaked, "–password."

"Don't I get a hint?"

"I can't give you a hint, they'd fire me," he continued in a goofy voice fitting his appearance. "And this is the last place that would give me a job. You have to have the password or I can't let you in."

"Oh, come on! We're out in the middle of nowhere. Who'll know?"

"They'll know, they'll know."

"Well, I haven't the slightest idea and I don't have to get into the oasis, so I'll just be on my way." Alia started walking.

"But you can't pass without the word!"

"I have a whole desert to go around it in," Alia said, gesturing with her arm. "I don't need to pass through."

"But...but... That's not the way it's supposed to work. This isn't the way it is done."

"It's the way I'm doing it." Alia kept walking determinedly and waved him off. "You've done your job. I'm not using the oasis without the password. They can't fire you. Don't worry about it."

"But...can't you stay and visit?" he whined.

"Visit? What for?"

"I'm lonely."

"I don't have time to hang around. I'm not walking across a desert for the heck of it, you know."

"Oh, come on. We could play a game! Or tell stories! Or riddles! I know some riddles, listen – what has four wheels and flies?"

"A garbage truck, or I guess around here it might be a garbage wagon. No, I'm not staying."

"How about this one? What did the duck say to the waiter?"

"Put it on my bill," Alia answered in spite of herself. "Go away. Leave me alone."

"Okay, okay, those were easy ones. What about What's black and white and red all over?"

"A zebra with a sunburn, or a skunk with a sunburn, or a penguin with a sunburn, or a newspaper. Where did you get these things?"

"Boy you're good. Here's my hardest one: What's black and white and black and white and black and white and green?"

"What? I have no idea. What is black and white and black and white and black and white and green?"

"Ha, got you! It's three skunks fighting over a pickle," he was very pleased with himself. Alia groaned. "This is fun. Okay, now you ask me one."

"Oh, come on," Alia groaned. "Will you just leave me alone?"

"Ask me one! Ask me one! I'm ready!"

"I might as well be talking to myself," Alia muttered and kept walking. "If I tell you one, will you leave me alone?"

"Ohh, okay," he agreed grudgingly, "I suppose."

Alia racked her brains trying to think of a riddle, any riddle. She had not played with them since she was a child. She thought of one about bears at the North Pole, then discarded it. "No, that wouldn't be fair. He might not know about the North Pole." She thought some more, all the while the genie clamored at her side for his riddle. "Would you be quiet? I'm trying to think."

_"Tieran, do you know any riddles? I have an annoying genie following me, begging for a riddle. He won't leave me alone until he gets one and I can't think of any."_

_"A riddle? Hmm... How about:  
__It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,  
__Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.  
__It lies behind stars and under hills,  
__And empty holes it fills.  
__It comes first and follows after,  
__Ends life, kills laughter."_

_"I've heard that somewhere before."_

_"It is an old one here. Most know it or have heard it."_

_"What is it? Darkness?"_

_"Yes."_

She asked the genie the riddle and had him stumped.

"Ooohh, that's a hard one. Let me think about it." He continued floating along beside her as she walked. By this time she was well past the oasis and heading for the open desert again.

"Don't you need to be guarding the oasis?"

"Oh, I can tell when someone is coming, don't worry," he assured her brightly.

"I wasn't worried, I just wanted to get rid of you," Alia thought to herself. "Have you thought of the answer yet?" she asked with a sigh.

"No," he pulled a long face. "Give me a hint?"

"You didn't give me any hints."

"Oh, all right. Can I have the answer then?"

"It's darkness. Now will you please go?"

"Okay." He looked hurt and vanished.

"Finally," Alia sighed with relief and continued walking.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, and trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.

The satchel idea isn't mine. It comes from a really good book by Meredith Ann Pierce called The Darkangel.

Tara/Dreamin' gave me the pickle riddle, which I had never heard before. Thank you. The Darkness riddle I found in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Did he make it up or is it older than that? The other riddles I've just heard here and there.


	10. Chapter 10

She was sitting, removing sand from her boots for the umpteenth time, and admiring the sunrise, when the genie popped back in next to her. "Oh, not again," she thought as she put her head down on her knees.

"I remembered something. Since I couldn't figure out your riddle you get a wish. Anything you want."

"Anything I want?" she asked and then thought to herself, "What I really want is for him to leave me alone." As she watched the sand pour from her boot, her more practical side kicked in. "I need something for all this sand and I need to move faster. Transportation. A camel? No, I've heard they're hard to handle. A horse? Definitely more exciting and at least I've ridden one once or twice. Might as well enjoy myself."

"Can you give me a horse? A desert horse? A healthy one please, not one that looks like it's on its last legs. And one that a rider with very little experience can handle. Oh, and please don't forget the bridle and saddle – I'll need them, too."

"I know just the thing. Watch." He turned, crossed his arms and stared at a patch of sand.

"If he blinks and nods, I can't be responsible for my actions," she thought.

As he stared at the sand a whirlwind began to form and the sand rose in a cloud, growing denser and denser without a breeze even stirring her hair. As she watched, it started to solidify and take shape. Soon she could discern the form of a horse the size of a chicken.

"Very impressive, but I'll need a horse larger than that, please."

"Wait, it'll grow." And indeed it did begin to grow, the vortex pulling in more sand. It reached the size of a normal horse and then began to gain detail, growing a mane, a saddle, a bridle, and other fancy trappings. As the vortex died and the last of the sand fell back to the dunes, the horse tossed its head and neighed.

"If you can do things like this I don't see why anyone won't give you a job."

"Aww, it was nothing," he said, embarrassed. "Most genies can do it faster and some of them don't even need to use sand."

Alia walked over to the horse and caught its head. "He's beautiful," she said, looking into the horse's intelligent eyes. The horse's coat shone a deep blue black in the light of the sunrise, with a mane and tail that faded to a blue-silver paler than the sand he had been created from. The tack ranged from leather that matched the color of his coat to a deep cobalt blue velvet with silver trimmings.

"Is he a normal horse? He won't fall back to sand after a day or once he leaves the desert will he?"

"Nah, he's a horse now. A little smarter, a little faster, and a little more endurance than normal, but a horse."

"That's wonderful."

"I did good, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did great. Thank you very much. This is a big help," she said as she impulsively gave the genie a hug. Then she walked back over to the horse again and looked at it. She turned back to the genie, "Um, can I ask for one more thing? Could I have a leg up?"

"Sure that's easy." He helped her into the saddle.

"Thanks, I never could get on a horse easily. Does he have a name?"

"No. You get to pick one – he's your horse."

"Hmm... I'll have to think about it. You'd better get back to your oasis."

"All right. Come back to visit me, okay?"

"If I ever come this way again I'll try, all right? No promises. I might not even be back."

"Oh, I'm sure you will. Bye. Good luck. Bye." He continued calling to Alia as she rode away for as long as she could hear him.

Alia rode for some distance before contacting Tieran again, getting used to riding again, even daring a gallop in an area where the desert leveled to a flat plain with no dunes. There must have been magic in the saddle, for she had no problems keeping her seat, not even jostling when trotting as she usually did.

"What shall I call you? I can't just go on calling you Horse. You're the color of the night sky, midnight blue, and your mane reminds me of moonlight and starlight. How about Night." The horse tossed his head, seemingly in assent. "Then it's official. Time to check in with Tieran."

_"Tieran?__ How much farther do I have to go?"_

_"You are just beyond halfway across the desert. Why did you notstop at the oasis?"_

_"I didn't have the password. That's where the genie came from. When I approached, he showed up and wanted a password. I didn't have it, of course, and didn't feel like waiting around. You said I didn't need to stop there anyway, so I kept walking. That's when the genie started following me and wanted to play a riddle game. That riddle you gave me stumped him and I got him to leave. Thanks."_

_"You are very welcome."_

_"Then he came back and offered me a wish, so I got a horse to ride. No more sand in my boots. But I was kind of rude to him before and I'm starting to feel bad about it now."_

_"What will you do with it?"_

_"Do with what?"_

_"The horse."_

_"Um, ride it? What else would I do with it?"_

_"And what will you do with it when you get to the cliff, for example?"_

_"Oh."_ Alia was crestfallen. _"I hadn't thought that far ahead. I could turn him loose, I suppose, but that seems so cruel, both to the horse and the genie – he was so proud of what he made."_

_"I cannot help you, Alia. I cannot take the horse and care for it," Tieran reminded Alia. "Jareth would notice the magic."_

Alia agreed, _"No, I know, I wasn't even going to ask. Do you think I could contact the genie like I do you? I could ask him to keep an eye on Night if I don't come back soon. He might not even do that after I was so mean and rude to him before."_

_"You should be able to contact him. You will not know until you ask him."_

_"I guess I won't. I don't have his name though. I never asked for it. How do I call to him without his name?"_

_"Think of him and you should be able to find him."_

Alia thought hard about the genie, about his oversized hat, his trailing vest, his comic shoes. _"Genie, can you hear me? I need to ask you something. Can you answer me?"_

"Sure, I can hear you." Alia nearly fell off the horse, despite the saddle, when the genie popped in next to her so unexpectedly. "That's a neat trick. Where'd you learn to do that?"

"A ...a friend showed me." Alia stammered. "When did Tieran go from a stranger with the directions to a friend?" she asked herself.

"I need to ask you about Night, I mean the horse. I have to cross the desert and, eventually, I will need to climb a cliff. A horse can't do that. Could you please watch him until I come back? Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't get in trouble, make sure he finds enough to eat?"

"Mmm, I don't know. You already got your wish fair and square. I'm not supposed to help you more than that."

"Well, really it's helping the horse, isn't it? And I'll do something for you if you want and I can," Alia offered. "That would just be a trade, not help. What do you want me to do? More riddles?"

"Ooohh, riddles." He looked tempted.

"And it wouldn't interfere with your oasis guard. You could even bring him back to the oasis. Animals don't have to have the password do they?"

"Nooo, but I don't know. It still sounds like it would get me in trouble."

"It's a simple barter. I give you riddles, you take care of Night."

He still looked as if he did not like the idea. Alia had an inspiration and reined in Night in a valley between two dunes.

"What if the horse wandered back to the oasis? You would be able to keep an eye on him then, wouldn't you?" Alia felt she was onto something.

"Yeah," he answered, but he sounded unsure.

"And then, when and if I come back through the oasis I can trade for the horse if I have time. Would that work? We wouldn't be breaking any rules then would we?"

"No, I guess not," he answered hesitantly, not sure what he was committing himself to.

"Wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate this very much. I really like the horse, I've named him and everything, and I am really very grateful for you giving him to me. I don't want him to get hurt or starve. I don't know what there will be for him to eat out here. I'm sure he would thank you, too, if he could." Alia's babble ran out of steam. "You'd better hurry back before your employers miss you. Who employs you anyway?"

"The ruler of the desert. I've never met him."

"Oh," hitting a conversational dead-end she paused awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. "Um, well. I'll try to be back soon. Thanks again." The genie disappeared and she turned Night and urged him up the dune face to the north.

_"That went well. Do you suppose it is part of the destiny of the prophecy that everyone helps me? I seem to be getting unusually lucky on this trip. Not only doesn't the dragon eat me, she gives me a ride. The genie gives me a horse and then agrees to keep it for me despite my bad manners."_

_"Yes, you have been lucky,"_ Tieran said wearily.

_"I guess the heroes always are in these sorts of stories. You said I was over halfway across the desert. I wonder how long that will take on Night? Maybe I can make it before I have to stop,"_ Alia babbled mentally at Tieran. _"I'm getting kind of tired, though. You must be, too. I've talked to you off and on all night."_

_"I am a little tired."_

_"You could sleep. Since I can see the spire clearly now you don't have to guide me. I'll only call if I really need you."_

_"If you are certain you will not need me?"_ He sounded reluctant to leave her unsupervised.

_"Nope.__ Night and I got it covered for now,"_ Alia answered confidently.

_"Call for me when you reach the edge of the desert."_

_"I will,"_ Alia responded and felt Tieran leave. "Okay, since you're supposed to be smarter than the average horse, in case I fall asleep, let me show you where we're going. See that spire on the horizon?"

The horse nodded his head emphatically. Alia hoped it wasn't just a coincidence.

"That spire is where I need to go. Just keep heading for it."

Another head toss.

"Are you really understanding me?"

Head nod.

"This isn't just coincidence?"

Head shake.

"Did I need to worry about having the genie watching you?"

The horse shrugged, involving his whole body and causing Alia to clutch at the saddle.

"I see. Can you try to get out of the desert and to that spire as quickly as possible?"

The horse nodded again and broke into an easy loping canter that covered the ground quickly.

They continued this way through the desert for some time, moving from a trot to a canter then back again with an occasional walk thrown in. The sun beat down on them and Alia was grateful for the hooded cloak to shade her from it. They stopped occasionally for water from her bag and once she tried to find Night something to eat from the satchel. He took the offered apple politely, but Alia got the feeling that he didn't really want it.

Gradually, they encountered more stone and hard packed clay and less sand. Alia could also easily see the cliff on which the castle stood.

The sun and rhythm of Night's movement lulled Alia into her thoughts again. She reflected on the genie. He had said that if he messed up he would be fired.

"Apparently, you have to have a job, even in the land of fairy tales. They never mentioned that in Grimm. It seems unfair, somehow." Alia laughed at herself. "How did that line go? 'You're right. It's not fair, but that's the way it is.' I guess life's the same all over.

"I wonder if he even wanted to be a genie? He likes riddles so much; he probably just wanted to study them for the rest of his life."

The thoughts of careers triggered her memories and these memories took her back into high school, to a night shortly after she and Cara had met, when Cara had slept over at Alia's house and they had stayed up all night talking, as teenagers do.

"So, what are you going to do?" Alia had asked Cara.

"Do? What do you mean, 'do?'"

"You know, 'do.' What are you going to do when you 'grow up?'"

"Oh, that. I've got it all planned out. I'm going to be another Bill Gates. The first female one. The first minority. Just call me Billina."

"How about Wilhelmina?"

Alia got a pillow in the face for her suggestion.

"I'm serious. I'm going to be so rich I'll be able to buy him out. Only I won't give him that satisfaction. I'll take over his company instead."

"Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it," Alia said as she tossed the pillow back.

Cara propped herself up on one elbow and challenged, "All right, Miss Smarty Pants. What are you going to do?"

"Me? I don't know. I …maybe an artist. Lots of money would be nice."

"You'll never make lots of money as an artist. Not until you're dead, anyway. For lots of money you have to be a doctor or a lawyer. Or a computer tycoon," Cara added with a big grin.

"No, not a lawyer or a doctor. They're too much stress. People's life in your hands, depending on you. Not for me."

"Yeah, think of all that power."

"Nope, not for me. I'll just have to find one of those jobs where you make lots of money and golf every day."

"But you don't play golf," Cara objected.

"So I'll hire someone. I'll have all that money. I'll have to find something to do with it. Or you could hire someone – you'll have even more money, Wilhelmina."

"Nope, that's mine. Mine, do you hear me? All mine!" Cara exclaimed evilly.

"So what will you do with it?"

"Save the world maybe. Buy back the rain forests and stuff. Cure cancer and AIDS and all those other diseases." Cara changed the subject. "Enough of this stuff. What about the really important things? Like who are you going to marry?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What do you want in a guy? Mine's gonna be rich."

"Rich? What does he need to be rich for?"

"So his fragile male ego isn't threatened by my wealth, of course. Some guys are threatened by powerful, rich women."

"Ah, right, of course. Rich is nice. I guess if I married someone rich I wouldn't need to worry about what I did. I could just be a rich society wife and live off of him."

"That would be boring, though."

"And unfulfilling," Alia sighed. "So much for that plan."

"So what else? Handsome?"

"Yeah, handsome."

"What kind of handsome?" Cara prodded. "Getting information out of you is like pulling teeth."

"Well...dark hair. Eyes. Eyes are important."

"What else? Tall? Short? Thin? Fat?"

"I'd rather thin than fat. Height doesn't matter much. I'm not tall. Only, if he's too short, it'd be embarrassing for him, you know? More importantly, he'd need to have similar interests, be kind, be my friend, you know?" Alia shifted the conversation off her revelations and back to Cara. "What about you? What's your rich guy like? You going to have a trophy husband?"

"Maybe. I'm thinking more along the lines of the rock star type. You know, blond, good-looking, good body, good dresser. Or maybe some corporate type, so he has the power, too. Gotta watch out for the ego again. Though if he was the dumb blond trophy type, he might not notice."

"So you either want a surfer dude, a rock star, or a corporate raider?"

"That about covers it."

.….

"Why did you stop?" Alia asked as she pulled herself upright in the saddle. The lack of motion had awoken her from her doze across the horse's neck. "Have we reached the cliff already?"

Night shook his head, rattling the bit and other metal parts of the bridle as she rubbed her eyes. She noticed that the sun had sunk low in the sky. Then she saw what stopped them.

Laying directly across their path, between them and the cliff, cut a deep chasm. She looked along it in both directions, hoping to see a bridge, but it stretched without a break for as far as she could see.

"Hmm, do we go left or right? Or do we go neither way? You couldn't jump that could you?"

Night shook his head emphatically no.

"Didn't think so. Then I guess it's time to ask for some advice." _"Tieran, I've got another problem. Another challenge to overcome, to put a positive spin on it."_

_"What is it this time?"_ he asked, tired and annoyed.

_"I'm sorry to wake you, but there is a chasm across the path that Night can't jump. Is there a bridge nearby that we can use to cross?" _Alia asked as she dismounted. She fell on her hands and knees as her legs gave way after the long hours of riding.__

"_I do not see the chasm on the map. Can you see what is at the bottom?"_

Alia, who had fallen uncomfortably near the edge, was getting a very good look at the bottom. _"It looks like there's a river at the bottom, about a couple hundred feet down."_

_"There is a river on the map. Strange that it does not show the gorge that it is in. Even if it is a new feature, it should be on the map."_

As Alia was moving back from the edge and trying to stand up, she knocked some loose sand and pebbles over the edge, drawing her eye irresistibly as they fell. She noticed something strange about the way it fell, but could not quite put her finger on it. She deliberately tossed some more pebbles over the edge to observe it again. She watched it fall for quite some distance – longer than she should have been able to for pebbles of that size – and realized they fell at the wrong speed.

_"Hang on. Maybe there isn't a gorge at all. What was that line from the movie? 'Things aren't always what they seem in this place?'"_

She looked at the river again and thought she could see some sort of bridge crossing it far down in the chasm. _"It looks like there is a bridge. Is that on the map?"_

_"Yes, it is marked on the map near you. It seems to be the only one."_

_"Then I guess I have to get down to it somehow."_ The sun would set in a few hours and if the gorge was of any depth it would get dark in it even sooner than up here on the edge of the desert. She decided to wait until morning to start down and across. _"I think I'll wait until tomorrow though. I'll find a place to camp so you can go back to sleep. Talk to you in the morning."_

_"Be careful. Good night."_

_"Yeah, of course. G'night."_

Alia turned back to the horse. "You can stay here or head back to the oasis now. It's your choice. You know I don't have much for you to eat. I have to find somewhere to camp for the night."

Scanning the chasm's edge, Alia observed no trees or streams along its length, turning it into a matter of preferring one boulder to sit next to over another. She moved well back from the edge, Night following along behind her like a puppy.

"Whether it's a chasm, a gorge, or just a ravine, I don't want to fall into it in the middle of the night. At least I don't have to gather firewood," she thought with a wry smile as she realized no trees meant nothing to burn in a fire.

She removed 'Night's saddle and bridle and then ate as the sun set. Once finished, Alia took off the pendant, rolled herself in her cloak and blanket and slept.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belongs to the Jim Henson Company.

Thank yous to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review for this (or any other) story. And if you're reading and you haven't left a review, why not? I hope I have more than a handful of people reading this. After all the effort we writers put into giving you these stories, the least you can do is let us know you're reading them. Particularly if you like them. And you must like this one otherwise you wouldn't have made it to chapter 10. If you leave a signed review I try to return the favor and read things you have written (if I'm familiar with the source material, no guarantees if I'm not).


	11. Chapter 11

When she woke Alia found she ached again, only in different places this time. She could have sworn she had hit them all last time, but was being proven wrong. She wished for some firewood so she could make more of the tea. "Wimp. You'll just have to tough it out today," she told herself.

The sun had risen high enough for her to start by the time she had eaten, so after she had saddled him, she said goodbye to Night, sent him on his way, and started for the lip of the gorge.

The depths remained in shadow but near the lip of the gorge was well enough lit for her to start picking her way down. She discovered a narrow ledge that seemed to work its way down the wall of the gorge in the direction of the bridge. Sidling her way down facing the wall, moving slowly enough that she did not catch the gradually receding line of darkness below her, she slid her feet along the ledge, not wanting to lose contact with it for an instant. Occasionally, she brushed more loose pebbles off the ledge to fall bouncing below.

About fifteen feet below the rim of the gorge, the illusion vanished and she discovered that she saw guessed correctly. The ravine was not as deep as it had looked from above.

As she descended even further, she noticed an offensive odor, that she decided had to be coming from the river, which filled the bottom of the ravine and had an unhealthy look about it, with an unpleasant scum on its surface.

_"Tieran, this river, is it labeled on the map?"_

_"No, there is no name. Why do you ask?"_

_"Because it stinks. Where does it come from? Where does it go?"_

_"It passes under the __Goblin__City__. I am afraid they use it as a sewer. Then it empties into the Bog of Eternal Stench."_

_"What if I slip? Like I'll be able to sneak up on Jareth smelling like this," _Alia complained.__

_"Oh quit whining,"_ Tieran sent to her, losing patience. _"You will not slip. And if you did it would wash off. At this point the smell is not permanent. The magic does that. It must sit in the Bog and absorb magic from the land first."_

Slightly chastened, Alia changed the subject. _"I'm almost down to the bridge. The gorge isn't nearly as deep as it looked. I've been thinking about this bridge. Why would someone put a bridge in?"_

_"So the river can be crossed,"_ Tieran sighed, pointing out the obvious.

_"Yes, I know that, but why bother with it after going to the trouble of putting the illusion on the gorge to discourage people? Why not just leave it unbridged with the illusion to keep people out? Or if it is not meant to keep people out, why bother with the illusion? And whose lands are these? Is this considered part of the Labyrinth?"_

_"I believe that these lands are considered part of the Labyrinth, which means Jareth is behind it. He always has a reason for what he does."_

_"He has the desert, too?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Then the genie works for Jareth. I'm getting a bad feeling about this."_

_"Could it be the smell?"_

_"It's not that kind of feeling."_

By this time she had reached the bridge, a small plank one with rails and a slight arch, that looked to be in perfect repair and fairly new. "Well, it looks better than that one Sarah had to cross," Alia thought as she stepped gingerly on it, expecting at any moment for it to collapse or for something to jump out at her and challenge her. She took another step, and another. Soon she had reached halfway across and still nothing had happened. She started to relax, then remembered that in horror movies the monster only strikes once the victim relaxes and lets down her guard.

She made it all the way across without incident and sat down, before she collapsed with relief. She looked at the wall above her for a path leading up and happened to notice the position of the sun. _"Is it past __noon__ already? I didn't think it had taken me that long to get down here and cross over."_

_"What do you mean? It is not even __noon__ yet."_

_"The sun is on my right as I face the river and south, which means it is in the west. So it's on the wrong side of the sky for it to be morning,"_ Alia patiently explained to the obviously mistaken Tieran.

_"Unless you are on the wrong side of the river,"_ he pointed out.

"_What do you mean, wrong side? I just crossed it –,"_ Alia exclaimed, mildly outraged.

_"Which way is it flowing?"_ It was Tieran's turn to be condescendingly patient.

_"To my right!"_ Alia declared confidently.

_"Now, think. Which way was it flowing before you crossed?"_

_"To my...right."_ Alia deflated.

_"To the east.__ This means that unless it has suddenly switched directions and you are now somewhere far east of me, you are back where you started."_

_"But how?__ I didn't turn around. I didn't close my eyes. Nothing changed."_

_"All I know that it is still morning here and it is unlikely that I am the subject of an enchantment. You, however, are very likely to be. Try again. Perhaps if you walk across backward you will succeed."_

She tried going across backward, half expecting the bridge to disappear with every step. She watched the river carefully. Nothing changed, yet when she stepped off the bridge, she was on the wrong side again.

_"Try turning around and coming back when you reach halfway."___

She tried that and was again on the wrong side. She tried crossing with her eyes closed, and crossing all the way but the last step, then turning and going back. Still she was on the wrong shore. She tried running across. She tried thinking about getting to the desert side instead of the cliff side. None of those attempts had any more success.

Alia sat and stared morosely at the bridge.

_"Unless you have any more ideas, Tieran, the only other thing I can think of is wading across. I don't care if he does smell me coming at this point. I just want to get to the other shore."_ She gave a short mirthless laugh. _"Now we know why the bridge is here. Jareth is probably sitting there on his throne watching all this through one of his little crystal balls and getting his day's entertainment. I guess the bridge isn't as easy as it...seems..."_ Alia started to get an idea. _"Tieran what if this isn't what it seems again? What if I do cross the river and it only seems like I don't? The old man in the movie with that bird on his head said, 'Sometimes we think we are not getting anywhere, when in fact...we are.' How many times have I crossed this thing?"_

"_That is an interesting idea. Let me think..."_

They came to the consensus that she had attempted to cross the bridge seven times but had only actually crossed it five times. In either case, that meant that if her theory was correct, she was currently on the northern side of the river where she wanted to be.

_"This would be even better entertainment than the other way. Making people cross and recross when they don't need to. He's probably busting buttons off his vest laughing. Now, where's the way up?"_

She could not see a way up the wall from where she was standing, but having no other choice, she walked over to try to find a way. Once she was standing next to the ravine wall, she could see that steps had been cleverly cut into it and camouflaged so that they blended perfectly with the mottled blue-gray stone of the gorge wall.

Using these steps, she climbed out of the ravine much more simply than she had descended via the ledge. She quickly and easily reached the top and was pleased to find that she had been correct and had indeed crossed the river to the northern side.

Unfortunately, she still had a long way to travel before she reached the cliff and no horse to speed things up. She felt ready for it, though. She had gotten a good night's rest and, despite the delays, it was early enough in the day that she thought she would be able to reach the cliff before sunset.

The walk across the intervening grassy plain passed uneventfully. No sand filled her boots; no genie buzzed in her ear; she climbed no dunes; she just walked through mile after mile of knee high, brilliant blue grass, rippling in the constant wind channeled along the cliff face. The cliff face in the distance graduated from lavender at the base through pink to the yellow gray of the stone she remembered seeing on the buildings and walls of the Labyrinth and castle in the movie.

As Alia walked her mind wandered yet again. She wondered if Jareth would find out what had happened with the genie and punish him for helping her. She hoped not. If he did not she would need to find a way to repay his kindness. He would want her to stop and riddle, she knew, but she would not likely have time on her way back. With any luck, she would be flying, literally.

_"Tieran, after all of this, if I don't get a chance to come back here, could you make sure the genie gets more riddles? That's if he's still here and Jareth hasn't done something with him. Send him a book or something at least? I probably won't have time to riddle with him on my way back."_

_"I will try, if I am able."_

_"Will I be able to come back here?"_

_"If you like, I can continue contact with you in your world," _he offered.__

_"All of this is assuming we both get away unscathed, of course."_

_"Of course."_

The cliff loomed larger and larger, higher than it had appeared and than Alia had imagined. Eventually, she came close enough to it that she could no longer see the top of it.

_"Tieran, there is no way I will be able to climb this."_

_"Things are not always what they seem here,"_ Tieran reminded her. _"Remember the gorge? That was not nearly as deep as it first seemed. Wait until you reach the cliff to start worrying about climbing it."_

_"Oh, sure, the castle really sits on a plateau only ten feet high. Even if it isn't a tenth as high as it seems, there is still plenty of room for it to be too tall for me to climb."_

Alia finally reached the foot of the cliff at sunset. She found the lower portion of the cliff covered in vines, causing the lavender shading she had seen from a distance. The leaves were a pale silvery white and the whole vine was covered with small purple trumpet-shaped flowers. Thinking that the vines might be useful in providing support for part of her climb, she pulled at one to test how well it had anchored itself to the stone. They grew tougher than they looked and bore her weight.

_"Here's some more luck, Tieran. The lower portion of the cliff is covered in vines that seem strong enough to be able to hold me. It's too late to start climbing now, though. It will have to wait until morning."_

She had been standing with her hand on the vines while talking to Tieran and when she tried to pull her hand away, she found that small tendrils had quickly wrapped themselves around her fingers. The tendrils did not hold her fingers strongly, but entangled her thoroughly, making them difficult, but not impossible to remove.

She sat and watched the stars come out one by one as she ate. She had not noticed them before. As she thought about it she realized she had not really had time to stargaze. The first night it had rained and the following nights she had either fallen asleep immediately or had been walking, making it difficult for her to focus on the stars above her.

"Still," she thought, "I should have taken time to notice them on a rest break." Now she had time, but only half a sky unoccluded by the cliff to observe. Even in that portion of the sky she could see many more stars than at home. She had forgotten what a difference city lights made on visibility.

_"Tieran, what sort of constellations do you have here?"_

_"Constellations? We have many of them. There is The King and The Queen. The Crown, The Rose, The Lily. There is even a Goblin. What others are there?"_ he asked himself and paused for a moment, thinking. _"It has been a long while since I have looked at them. There is a series of animals: Dog, Dragon, Horse, __Griffin__, Lion, Snake, Firey,...ah, and a Chicken. The Goblin is near the Chicken, of course. And there is The Owl as well. There are more that I cannot remember now. Different lands have different constellations."_

_"Can you show me some of them? I can only see the southern sky now."_

_"The Crown is an easy one to find in the southern sky. It is a bright ring of stars in the southeast. Do you see it?"_

_"Yes."_

He pointed out a few more constellations to her until she started yawning and he caught her at it. _"Was that a yawn? You should sleep. Do not forget the pendant. You are too close now to leave that on – he would find you easily."_

_"I won't. Good night."_

_"Good night."_

.….

The Goblin King looked out a high southern window of his castle. He sat on the sill playing idly with a crystal as he gazed toward the desert and mountains beyond, contemplating the situation and his plan of action. The young woman was drawing closer now – he could feel her, and the dreams were growing stronger.

"What is her reason for coming here? Do these dreams drive her?"

He waved the crystal back and forth, watching the interplay of the moonlight and the crystal, and sighed. "I must play the game properly," he thought as he seized the crystal, arresting its movement, "But I can I wait that long?"

.….

In the morning Alia walked back and forth along the cliff trying to decide whether the starting point of her climb would make a difference. She settled on a likely looking spot – or so she told herself – and began to climb.

"Please, let it not be as high as it looks or let there be a short cut," she thought as she climbed.

She pulled herself from handhold to handhold, sometimes using the vines, sometimes the rock face underneath. Concentrating on what she was doing, a voice out of nowhere startled her.

"'Allo," it said cheerily.

Alia jumped and her hold slipped from the tiny ledge she had found. She flailed at the vines and leaves as she slipped and then fell.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, and trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belongs to the Jim Henson Company.


	12. Chapter 12

Alia fell a short distance, then a tendril wrapped around her wrist yanked her up short. She looked down to find herself hanging about three feet off the ground. "Well, that wasn't nearly worth all of that panic," she thought to herself and looked back up at her wrist. It amazed her that the tendril had held and that it had wrapped around her wrist. She had been moving fairly steadily and she didn't think her hand had been still that long had gotten or had gotten tangled in the vines. "Well, it doesn't matter how it did it, just that it did. I might not have died but I could have sprained an ankle or something at least," she thought as she reached for hand and foot holds to pull herself back up.

"'Allo? You hain't 'urt?" came the voice again as she was working the tendril loose. She almost slipped again, having forgotten about it.

'Allo? Where had she heard that before? That worm in the movie had said it. She looked around her among the flowers on the vine.

"Up 'ere. Nah, over 'ere," it said as she looked around. Finally she spotted it several feet above her and to her right.

"Yeah, thas right, up 'ere."

"You're the worm from the movie," Alia said and continued climbing toward the worm.

"Nah, never been in a movie in me life." The worm shook his head. "Me cousin, on t'other 'and, 'e was in a movie. Cor, 'e gets in on ev'ryfing. Lives near the front gates, 'e does. Wot you doin'?"

"I'm trying to climb this cliff. What does it look like I'm doing?" said Alia rather crossly, for she had just skinned her knuckles, not for the last time she was sure.

"Why?"

"Why? To get to the top! Why else does anyone climb a cliff?"

"Naow, I mean, why're you climbing when you could walk?"

She had reached the worm by now. He looked very much like his cousin, but without the red scarf. "Because, I can't walk on a vertical cliff. Humans aren't like worms I'm afraid."

"Nah, you don' need t' do that, neither." He shook his head.

"Then how am I supposed to get at the castle at the top of this cliff?" Alia asked, eagerly hoping there was an easy short cut involved.

"You use the tunnel a' course," the worm replied as if everyone knew of the tunnel. "Ev'ryone else does."

"What tunnel?" asked Alia, who was not everyone else.

"One at the base a' the cliff, over there," said the worm, bobbing his head down and to Alia's right.

Alia carefully worked her way back down from the wall once she disentangled herself from the fine tendrils already winding their way around her wrists and fingers. Once on the ground she stepped back and surveyed the flowering vines in front of her. Aside from the path of bruised leaves and flowers she had made in climbing, she saw no difference in the vines anywhere. There was simply no sign of a tunnel.

"I don't see anything. What do you mean there's a tunnel?" She scanned the foliage higher up trying to see the worm again, but could not find him at this distance.

"S'there. You jest hain't looking right, you hain't," he quoted.

"Very funny. Thought you said you hadn't seen the movie?'

"Never said that. Said I 'adn't been in one, not that I 'adn't never seen one. Made us watch it at family reunions he did."

"Where is the tunnel? Right in front of me?"

"Nah, gawn furfver to your right. Thas it. Right there. Now s'right in front of you."

"Behind the vines?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

She walked to the vines directly in front of her and reached out to pull them aside so that she could see behind them. When she put her hand among the leaves and blooms, instead of moving aside, they rippled and shimmered as if stirred by a wind or reflected on a pool of water. But these leaves and blooms had more depth and dimension than mere reflections. She pulled her hand out of the illusion and looked at it, expecting it to be wet or colored, to look different somehow. There was no sign on her hand or in the vines that she had interfered with them.

"Do I just walk through it?" she asked the worm as she played with the rippling image.

"Thas all I ever seen t'others do. They jes' disappear inta the wall."

"Do you know anything else about the tunnel? Are there branches and turns I need to know about? Is it lit?"

"Nah, I don' know nuffing. I'm jest a worm. Never been down there. Can' be too 'ard now can it, if goblins follow it? Never seen 'em come out wi' torches, though."

"Nothing else to tell me? Like 'Don't go that way. Never go that way,' or 'If she'd ha kept goin' that way she'd ha gone strayt to that castle?'" she asked, trying to mimic his cousin's accent. She trailed her fingers through the illusion, watching the patterns made by the interlocking ripples.

"Oh, that wye'll tike you stryte to the castle all right. I fought that 'us where you said you wanted t' go. There's nuffing else on top, there hain't."

"Yes, that's where I want to go, but I just wondered if there was anything else, like where this comes out on the other end. Does it come out in the castle? The gardens?" She stuck her arm through the illusion to above the elbow attempting to see it through the vines and flowers. Not even a faint shadow of it could be seen through the illusion. It just stopped where it entered among the flowers.

"Nah, they never say hanyfing 'bout that."

"And it's the goblins that use it, you said?"

"Mos' times. 'E sends 'em off into the desert, don' 'e? Don' know why. Off they go. Sometime they comes back, sometime they don'."

"Well, like you said, it can't be too difficult if goblins can make it. Thank you for your help and information. I'm not sure I would have made it going the other way."

"You're welcome 'Ave fun stormin' the castle."

Alia stopped as she stepped forward to pass through the illusion and looked in the general direction of the worm. "That's the wrong movie."

"Sorry."

"That's okay. I appreciate the thought."

Alia braced herself, preparing to step through the illusion. She found herself holding her breath in anticipation and consciously forced herself to breathe, then closed her eyes and stepped through the curtain of illusion. She felt nothing. She expected tingling, or a sense of coolness, or a tickle on her skin as she passed through, but she felt nothing at all.

She opened her eyes to confirm that she had passed through the vines into the tunnel and saw only blackness. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness after the bright morning, she noticed that she cast a faint shadow – some light filtered in through the illusion. When she turned to look at the entrance she could still see the grassy plain in the brilliant morning light vaguely through the curtain.

She turned back to the tunnel. Ahead a very faint glow crept around a turn. As she walked toward it she noticed the tunnel, already sloping slightly upward, cut smoothly through the rock. The corridor led around the corner to a flight of neatly cut stairs rising out of her sight. Who knew how many goblin feet passing on these stairs had worn a slight concavity into the hard stone treads.

"I hope goblins don't come through here very often and those stairs are even older than they look. I don't really want to meet one face to face just yet," Alia thought.

As she climbed the stairs around the first curve, she found the source of the dim glow. A crystal sphere about three inches in diameter, similar to the ones she had seen in the movie, rested in a sconce shaped like a human hand on the wall above her head. Unlike the crystals in the movie this one glowed dimly with a warm amber light. The crystal rested lightly on the fingertips of the lifelike hand, as if produced just before she came around the bend to see it.

As she continued up the twisted stairs, Alia saw no more than one crystal at a time. By the time the stairs opened into a winding corridor she had lost count of how many of these spheres she had passed. They continued along the hall ahead of her which sloped gently upward as well.

She had been winding back and forth, twisting this way and that for hours, already having lost all of the little sense of direction she had had to begin with, when she heard noises coming from the corridor ahead. At first, she thought she was imagining things, but soon she knew beyond all question that someone walked toward her in the tunnel ahead. She dashed back the way she had come to the rough opening she remembered passing recently. Until now, she had avoided these few natural fissures cutting through the solid stone of the cliff, for they were obviously not the intended path.

Luckily, she did not have to run far to the last one she had passed. She ducked down into it. The floor and ceiling both ran lower than the level of the main corridor. For good measure, she walked yards back into it, well beyond the reach of the light from the corridor. So far in that, not only could she not be seen from the corridor, but she could no longer even see the light from the corridor. She listened intently for her fellow traveler to pass the opening so she could come out. She waited and heard nothing.

"Maybe I'm too far back to hear anything," she thought and crept quietly forward. She waited even longer for any sign of occupancy in the main corridor, shivering in the chill of the fissure. She had not noticed it in her first dash and near panic, but this side fissure was colder than the main corridor. She pulled her cloak around her more tightly and crept further forward.

She heard nothing and thought perhaps she could reenter the corridor safely. She walked further and still could not see the light from the main corridor.

"Did the globes go out after they passed? It's getting colder, too, and I don't remember this passage climbing as sharply as it seems to be going down. Great. I turned somewhere and now I'm lost. Well, it shouldn't be too hard to find my way back. I haven't come that far."

She turned around and headed back up the passage the way she had just come, feeling along both walls for openings she might have missed.

Finally, she found one and turned into it. It, too, headed downward. After walking along it, trailing her hands along the walls for a short distance without seeing light, she decided that she had made another wrong turn. She walked back to the original mistaken passage and sank down to the floor with her back to the wall, resting and thinking about what to do next. Her stomach notified her she had missed lunch, that it wanted to eat, and it wanted to eat now.

"Or have I missed dinner by now, too? At least I won't starve for a while," she thought as she dug into the satchel.

As she sat eating she realized that the swirls she was catching out of the corners of her eyes were not figments of her mind grasping for something to see, but glowing patches on the walls.

"Must be that glowing fungus you read about. It's blue-green like they say and everything. Hope I get more of it. I could use some light."

She got up and worked her way down the passage to the next opening. She walked down this one only to find a dead end. She felt her way around it to make sure. "Nope, not this one either. Back to try the next one."

As Alia traveled down the tunnel, the fungus proliferated and grew brighter, producing large blue-green splotches on the walls and floor, even overhead where the walls met.

"I'm definitely not in the right passage. I think I would have seen this fungus in that fissure even with the light from the main corridor." She sank down to the floor again, thoroughly dispirited, and gave in to her impulse to look for sympathy.

_"Tieran!"___

.….

Irielen found Tieran pacing agitatedly in the tower. She watched unnoticed for a few minutes before approaching him. He would stop occasionally and look to the north.

"What's wrong? Hasn't she contacted you?" Irielen asked him.

He started and turned around to find her sitting on a bench out of the path of his pacing.

"No, she has contacted me. There is a path through the interior of the cliff that would take her to the top – "

"That's good. I know she was worried about having to climb that cliff."

"But that path is now part of the problem. She lost it." He started pacing again as he spoke. "She said someone was coming so she went down a side turn to avoid them and could not find her way back. Now she is lost. She has no idea where she is and I cannot help her because the map did not even know about the path, let alone see through the solid rock to chart it! She is going to spend the rest of her life stuck in that cliff and I am responsible."

"No, she is not, and no, you are not." She spoke to the pacing form following him with her head as she sat. "You gave her a choice and she took it. She has known all along that it would be dangerous. This is just a danger we did not anticipate. If it comes to the point where she is not willing to keep trying on her own, you can always pull her out. So you have to explain it to Jareth." Irielen shrugged. "I expect you will need to do that eventually anyway."

"Yes, I know. You are right," he said, stopping and looking off to the north again. "But I still feel responsible."

"I know you do," Irielen thought.

.….

Alia considered what to do next. "I have no idea which way to go to get back to the corridor. This must be an underground version of the Labyrinth with changing tunnels. The best I can do is try to take the cross tunnels that head upward. At least that will get me closer to the surface and maybe I'll run into the main corridor again."

She resumed walking, stopping at each intersection to decide which way seemed to lead up and check for drafts. She had remembered the main corridor being warmer than these tunnels and thought that perhaps a warm draft would lead her to it.

She noticed the fungus on the walls had been gradually changing colors. It had shifted from the cold blue-green to a warmer ivory. Still, it did not really cast any light, mainly serving to show openings and side tunnels in the walls.

Despite her efforts to head upward, every tunnel she took eventually turned downward, taking her deeper into the base of the cliff. The fungus continued to shift colors, modulating from ivory through yellows and oranges to a strong red. As the colors warmed, so did the air in the tunnels.

"This is like walking through some movie set of Hell, complete with sweltering heat and evil crimson light. All it lacks are the anguished screams in the distance." She decided to turn back. This was not the way she wanted to go.

"I should have done this a long time ago, never mind sticking with a plan. And I should have tried taking a down tunnel instead of an up one since they all descended eventually anyway." She was muttering more in this vein, when a small creature popping out of a side tunnel ahead of her startled her. It paused to get its bearings and dashed straight for her, blindly running into her and continuing back the way she had come.

"So things do live down here!" She had not been able to get a good look at it, but its silhouette against the fungus suggested something ratlike. She was still considering the creature and why it had run into her, when she heard something else moving in that side tunnel.

"That sounds big. And I doubt I'll luck out and find another Arten'barad," she thought and followed the small creature's lead, beginning to run back the way she came.

As she ran, something passed her, this time a doglike creature, the size of a wolf or a large dog. This animal, too, ignored her, running blindly from something behind it.

"If that was afraid of whatever it is, I must really be in trouble. Now do I keep trying to follow the dog, hoping it knows where it's going or do I go it alone and hope the monster follows its trail instead, so we don't all get trapped together?" She decided to continue following the dog. "The dog knows more than I do and I'm bigger than it is, so with my luck whatever's back there would probably follow me anyway."

She had trouble seeing the dog's retreating silhouette against the red walls and soon lost the animal. Meanwhile, the noise behind her was getting closer.

"Time for Plan B – turn down a side tunnel." She did just that, gasping for breath and hoping this one would not turn into another dead end.

It did not, at least not immediately. It twisted and turned and all the while she could hear the unknown monster following behind her. It sounded like it had abandoned the trails of the other creatures and picked up on hers.

Suddenly this passage opened up into a large chamber and Alia stopped dead in her tracks. A deep blood red light lit the chamber, emanating from an immense crystalline shard embedded in the vaulted ceiling. Strangely, this sudden light did not hurt her eyes or blind her as she would have expected. The floor of the natural chamber had been polished smooth and inlaid in a starburst pattern, like a compass rose, centered under the ruby crystal in the ceiling.

Alia remembered what she had been doing and ran across the wide floor to one of the many tunnels radiating from the chamber. Just as she passed through the circle centered under the crystal, she slipped on the slick floor and went sprawling, her momentum causing her to continue sliding on the smooth stone floor.

As she scrambled to get to her feet, she turned back to face the passage she had emerged from just in time to see the creature that had been following her as it rushed into the chamber. She skittered and slid backwards, trying to simultaneously get up and back away from the thing.

It was huge and powerfully muscled, colored an incongruous, innocuous, fleshy pink, which the bloody light from the crystal above did not improve. It carried its massive head low, moving it back and forth, she assumed to track her with scent and sound, for it had no eyes. Teeth it had in plenty, in huge bulging jaws that composed most of its head. It reminded her of something and she tried to think what.

"What am I thinking? This thing is going to eat me for dinner or breakfast or whatever and I'm trying to think where I've seen it before! Forget that, just get up and move!" she told herself as she continued to scoot and scramble backward.

The Pink Thing began to move forward slowly stalking her. She continued to slide backward, unable to gather enough coordination in her panic and fear to overcome the slick floor and get up and run.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	13. Chapter 13

"Ludo!" It reminded her of the pink things on sticks that they attacked Ludo with in the movie. It looked like one of those pink creatures on steroids.

Meanwhile, despite this revelation, The Pink Thing on Steroids continued to advance on Alia. It drew her attention with the low rumbling growl it made as it crouched on the far side of the central circle of the design on the floor. Its mouth opened wide in an anticipatory grin as it prepared to spring at her and pounce, thinking it had found easy prey. If it had had a tail it would have been switching it back and forth like an overgrown house cat.

Alia finally got her coordination together and stood up and ran for an opening, any opening, she did not care which at this point. As she did, the Pink Thing on Steroids growled again and leapt for her.

Red light flared brightly behind her, but Alia kept running, wondering why the Pink Thing had not caught her yet. As she reached an opening to a tunnel, she realized she heard nothing behind her. She snuck a quick glance over her shoulder while running and saw nothing.

"It's just hiding somewhere, playing with me," she thought and kept running.

No fungus glowed on the walls of this tunnel, so she had no warning before she tripped over a large chunk of stone lying in her path and landed on a pile of rubble. The fall knocked her breath out of her and stunned her for a moment. She rolled on her back and gasped, trying to suck air back into her lungs and breathe again.

As she lay there panting and gasping, she slowly realized she still did not hear anything following her. She heard no sound but her own pained breathing. She cautiously moved again, slowly, making sure she had not seriously injured herself. She had not broken anything, but her cheek was already tender where it had hit a protruding stone.

She felt around her, exploring the extent of the pile of fallen rocks she had landed on, then crawling carefully up it, to see if she had any chance to make it over it. She hit her head on the ceiling of the tunnel, but didn't find any gaps in the rubble.

"A mouse couldn't climb over this, let alone me. So that's why it quit chasing me. It knew the rock fall blocked this way and I'd have to come back out again." She slid carelessly back down the pile and sat at the foot of it to catch her breath before she crept back to the main chamber.

Standing just within the tunnel, Alia looked around. The Pink Thing had left the chamber.

"He could be hiding in any one of these tunnels, though. Which one should I head for?"

She surveyed the tunnels and saw one off to the side that held promise, smooth and squarely cut, unlike the rough walls of the others. It looked about the size of the main corridor she had left far above and she also thought she could see a faint glow from within it. It seemed like ages ago that she had been walking on that path in the warm light of the crystals.

"That's the one to head for. It'll get me out of here. I can only hope the Pink Thing isn't hiding in there." She steeled herself to make a mad dash across the open floor to get to that corridor.

She ran for the other corridor, looking around her constantly trying to see the Pink Thing as it came for her. It did not appear. Halfway across, she slowed to a walk, puzzled and slow-witted in her exhaustion.

"It should have come out by now. Where is it?"

She came to a complete halt and turned a full circle to look around the chamber. There was no sign of it anywhere.

"Did I imagine it all? Was it some figment of my mind brought on by the darkness? Maybe it's a trick of the tunnels, just like the Labyrinth plays tricks. In any case, I'm not staying here to find out. I'm getting as far away as I can and then collapse."

The new corridor she had found had the same smooth walls and floor, the same hand sconces holding the same crystals giving off the same amber light as the first corridor. She thought this passage must run somewhere below the corridor she had walked in before and could only hope they joined somewhere above.

When she felt she could walk no further, she laid down where she stood, sprawled with one arm over her eyes. She was taking no more chances with side tunnels. "If they find me, they find me. At this point, I don't care. Besides, it's not like I've seen any convenient side rooms with neon vacancy signs."

She took off the pendant, clutched the chain in her hand as she rolled into a tight ball on her side, and fell asleep almost immediately.

She bolts along the fence...presses on through the soft blue sandy dirt...she runs too slowly, but she cannot move any faster, no matter how she tries...she fights around the end of the fence into the crowd...everyone looks for her, but no one finds her...no one sees her...the sand under the grass trips her...she stumbles, falls, lands on the pile of rubble...she must run from the monster...must escape from it...she cannot see it in the darkness...she knows it is faster...it's right behind, about to catch her...she is tiring though and cannot help slowing...it must catch her now...it growls...she runs faster...it chases her, close in the inky blackness...why does it not catch her...she runs and runs...

Alia woke with no idea of how much time had passed. She had no feeling of how long she had been lost or the length of time she had slept. She sat up and stretched. Oddly, she felt better now, even after her fall, than she had for several days. "Or longer than that depending on how long I've been down here," she thought. She slipped the pendant over her head and reached for Tieran with her mind.

_"Tieran, how long have I been down here?"_

_"Alia!__ Are you all right? What happened to you?"_ He sounded surprised, anxious, relieved.

_"I'm okay now. How long have I been down here?"_ she repeated.

_"Two days and two nights.__ I have not been able to reach you for over a day."_

_"That long? How long since I told you I was lost?"_

_"You contacted me the first night. What happened?"_ he repeated insistently.

Alia related her experiences, describing the creatures she encountered as well as she could and the cavernous chamber she had found that connected to the correct corridor.

_"And the last thing I remember was lying down to sleep. I guess I've been sleeping ever since. I still haven't got a clue about what happened to the Pink Thing,"_ she finished. _"Since I lost time wandering around, I should get moving again."_

_"Yes,"_ Tieran answered distractedly, then with more concentration, _"Are you injured? Did it hurt you?"_

_"No, I'm fine. I was bruised in the fall, but now I feel better than I have in a while. I wonder how far I have to go yet. Quite a way, I imagine,"_ Alia continued matter-of-factly. She was becoming an old hand at the adventure genre. "Next time I think I'll try for something less tiring and deadly," she thought to herself. "Maybe a light comedy or a romance."

It seemed that she was indeed quite a way from the end of the corridor, for she did not reach it until that night. The walk passed blessedly uneventfully, just mile after mile of winding corridor lit by the crystals in the hand sconces.

The corridor ended in an imposing stone door. She pulled on it to open it, fully expecting it to be locked, so it surprised her when it came open for her. She peeped around the edge of the door cautiously, hoping the door did not open to throne room or some other well-trafficked room. She saw only darkness, heard only crickets and smelled earth and flowers. She pulled the door open a little further and saw the moon in the sky above her.

"Looks like the garden to me. Good," she thought as she pushed the door closed again. "I think I'll stay in here for the night. I won't be able to see a thing in the dark and I am sure Jareth would know there was someone at the tree in any case, day or night. I might as well be able to see what I'm doing as well as he can."

Alia woke about an hour before dawn and contacted Tieran. _"Do you have any idea where the tree is in the garden?"_

_"No. A tree is a tree on the map."_

_"This map isn't all it's cracked up to be."_

_"If by that you mean it does not show as much as you thought it would, you are correct. It has limitations."_

_"It's getting light enough to see out there,"_ she told Tieran as she peered around the heavy stone door. _"I'd better get going."_

She pulled the door open far enough for her to fit through with her gear. The door moved easily and quietly for her again, well-balanced on its hinges. After looking around for possible observers, she moved out onto the stone paved patio in front of the door and pulled the door shut behind her. The tunnel through the cliff exited through the foundations of the castle.

A single bird, calling not far away, broke the eerie silence of the dim misty garden. Gray shrouded shapes filled the garden, concealed in a heavy mist. Alia breathed in the cool morning air, delicious after so long in the tunnels.

_"Well, can you tell me where there are trees and how to get there?"_

_"There is a walled garden directly in front of you, several hundred of your yards away. There are trees in it and it seems a likely place to put a valuable tree."_

_"Then I'll start there."_ Alia started down the path directly in front of her. She passed small ponds and formal flower beds. They tempted her to stop and admire them, but she decided against it when she thought of the prehensile vines on the cliff and Dorothy's poppies. "There's no telling what they might do to me."

She hurried down the path, walking quickly and sometimes breaking into a nervous jog. Every so often she would pause to listen to the sounds around her. She thought about walking on the grass instead of the crunching gravel, to silence her footsteps, but changed her mind when she saw the heavy dew upon it. If she walked through that she would leave a trail of footprints anyone could follow.

_"And my feet would get wet,"_ she grumbled.

_"What did you say?"_ Tieran asked.

_"Hmm?__ Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."_

The sun rose, bestowing color on her surroundings and burning off the mist. She could now see that a large lawn lay on one side of the path and naturalized trees, shrubs and flowers on the other. None of the trees she had passed so far bore fruit. Ahead she could see neatly trimmed formal hedges. The path ran by them, but she could see no opening in the hedge.

_"Is this the garden you were talking about?"_ Alia asked as she prepared to leave the path.

_"Yes, you should be standing next to the walled enclosure."_

Alia walked all the way around the enclosure without finding an entrance. Remembering the camouflage of the tunnel at the base of the cliff, she walked around it again, trailing her hand through the foliage feeling for illusions. She found the concealed entrance on the opposite side of the enclosure from the path and walked through it.

She came out into a square courtyard walled with warm golden stone. In the courtyard, the sun shone down strongly from high in the sky, the mist completely burned off. Climbing plants thick with flowers trailed on the walls and a small tree grew in each corner. In the center of each wall was an arch, one of which she had just entered through. Not gravel, but more of the golden stone paved the paths through the green grass of the courtyard and led in spiraling arcs from each of the arched entrances to a tree growing in the center.

Alia followed her path around the courtyard, listening to the droning of the bees among the flowers as she passed. She recognized roses, honeysuckle and jasmine, but others she could not identify. All had strong fragrances and bloomed profusely. The trees in the corners formed cool shaded retreats from the increasing heat of the sun. She noted none of the smaller trees bore fruit and turned her attention to the great one in the center.

This tree was rooted in a black rock thrusting up through the smooth green grass. She approached under the immense and ancient tree, its branches heavy with fruit.

"This is the peach tree. It has to be," Alia thought in awe as she gazed up through its branches. _"Tieran, I found the tree!"_ As she gazed around her she noticed a small spring welling from the dark rock between the roots of the tree and trickling down to collect in a rock-lined basin in the grass. Next to it sat a stone bench. It looked cool and inviting and a perfect place for peaceful contemplation. She bent to look closer at the pool and almost trailed her fingers in it to take a drink before she remembered the magic of the place.

"Better not. It might change my hand to gold or poison me. I'm too close to do something stupid like that," she thought and turned back to the tree looking for limbs low enough for her to reach easily. She saw some on the far side of the tree from the spring and walked over to them.

_"Tieran, what do I do with the peaches once I pick them?"_

_"Put them in the satchel, of course."_

_"Oh, of course. I never would have thought of that,"_ she responded with sarcasm. _"I thought you might have other plans. There's nothing else I need to do with them?"_

_"No, they will be safe in the satchel."_

Alia found two peaches she could reach and plucked them from the tree. Large and heavy in her hands, their velvety soft skin shaded from a rich golden orange to a deep crimson. She could already smell them as she slipped them into the bag.

"May I help you with anything else? More fruit? Some flowers perhaps?" asked a voice from behind her, dripping with sarcasm.

Alia whirled around to find the Goblin King leaning with his back against the bole of the tree in his characteristic position of nonchalance, arms crossed, one booted foot placed against the trunk. She did not stop to respond or think, but bolted for the nearest arch as he stood away from the tree and stepped forward.

Jareth sighed wearily. "Why do they always make it so difficult?" he asked crossly and jumped lightly down from the obsidian rock. He walked to the arch in no hurry; he knew exactly where she was going.

Alia ran through the archway and found herself in the castle. "At least it looks like the castle. Of course, not ever having seen most of it before there's no telling for sure," she thought to herself. _"Tieran, he caught me at it. Can you get me out of here?"_

_"Where are you?"_

_"Somewhere in the castle I think. No, make that know,"_ she responded firmly as she hastily backed out of the room full of stairs she had seen in the movie.

_"How did you get there?"_

_"I ran out of the garden and here I was. Now, I'm running through the castle trying to find a way out. I seem to be doing a lot of running lately,"_ she mused. _"Maybe I should try out for the cross-country team at school when I get back. Can you get me out of here, please?"_

_"No, I have tried. You will have to go outside and call for Arten'barad."_

"I should have called her before. It'll take her a while to get here. Oh, sh – "she started to swear as she skidded around a corner to come face to ugly face with a regiment of goblins. She doubled back and headed down another hall, then down a flight of stairs. Waiting calmly at the foot of the stairs was the Goblin King with another troop of goblins.

"Get her," he commanded quietly and the goblins ran clamoring forward. Alia turned to run back up the stairs and found her way blocked by more goblins. He had her trapped and she could see no way out.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, and trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	14. Chapter 14

"Think, think, think. How do I get out of this? The heroine always gets out. How?" Alia looked down at the low wave of goblins surging up the stairs at her. They covered every inch of the stairs; she could not wade through them, she would never find the steps. She could try going over them, walking on them, but she found the thought distasteful, to say the least. "Over them I jump over them?" She would have to be quick, while they were still near the bottom of the flight, otherwise she would land on the steps instead of the floor.

She ran straight for the goblins at the foot of the stairs. They paused, confused by their prey heading for them instead of running away. A frown flitted across Jareth's face.

"What is she doing? She's not going to try to jump? She'll kill herself. Things would be so much simpler if she would, for once, just – STOP!" he roared, throwing up his hand.

Alia stopped as though she had slammed into a brick wall and stood involuntarily frozen on the stairs.

"I am tired of chasing you through this castle. This will end here." Jareth's voice was cold as he spoke to the young woman. Then he addressed the goblins. "Bring her things to me," he told them, at the same time releasing her. She clutched her satchel to her chest.

_"Tieran, I can't run anymore. He's going to take the satchel. What do I do?"_

_"Give it to him, of course. What else can you do?"_

She reluctantly released the satchel and the knapsack to the goblins, who half carried, half dragged them to Jareth's feet. He opened the knapsack and turned it upside down, emptying its contents on the floor. He kicked through the contents cursorily. He knew as well as she did that she had put the fruit in the satchel, not the knapsack. He picked up the satchel with more enthusiasm and turned it upside down as well.

A few packages of dried fruit fell out on the floor. He shook it. Another packet fell out and broke open, scattering dried peaches everywhere. He looked up at Alia as she sat on the stairs trying unsuccessfully to hide the confusion on her face. She had thought all was lost, now she did not know what to think.

"Search the castle for two peaches. She must have hidden them somewhere in her flight," he commanded the goblins quietly. They looked at him blankly. He spelled it out for them, "Go find two peaches in the castle! Now!" shouting the last word as he lost patience. "I should have used the netgoblins," he muttered to himself.

He turned back to Alia who still sat on the steps where he had left her. "You," he said, pointing at her, "come with me."

She quickly got up and followed him.

He took her to his throne room, which was deserted with not even a chicken to be seen. He stopped and turned to her abruptly in the middle of the room, holding up the satchel. Alia, close on his heels and distracted by the state of the throne room, nearly ran into him and backed away as quickly as she could.

"You and I both know you did not hide them in the castle. I saw your face. You expected me to find those peaches in this bag. Now, why did I not find them? The only reason I can think of is that you are the only one who can take them out. Do so now," He handed her the bag.

Her hand shook as she took it from him. She closed her eyes and concentrated as she reached into the bag and pulled out...an apricot. She dropped it on the floor quickly and reached in again, not wanting to try the Goblin King's already thin patience. She concentrated again and thought larger. This time she pulled out a plum, then a nectarine.

"You seem to be producing a fruit salad. I am not amused. You have one more chance to produce a peach or you will have a first-hand experience of the oubliettes to take home with you...if you ever go home."

Alia took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind. She pictured the peaches as they had been when she took them from the tree: large, ripe, heavy, soft-skinned and fragrant. She reached in again, felt for a fruit of the right size and texture. Her hand closed around what felt right and pulled it out. She looked at it and her face fell. The peach she held in her hand bore only superficial resemblance to the magic peaches, a pale shadow of the real thing, hard, greenish, and far from ripe.

She heard laughter and looked up. Jareth was laughing at her in what seemed to be genuine amusement, not the malicious mirth she would have expected.

"I'm sorry. If you had seen the expression on your face," he said as he finally controlled himself. "I had you believing you were going to an oubliette. This is so much more fun than the real thing. I have not laughed like that in ages." He looked at Alia's confused expression and smiled. "Don't worry. I know you have no idea what happened to the fruit, but I think I know. You might warn your...sponsor that he is found out."

Horror passed across her face and she reached out for Tieran immediately. _"Tieran, he knows about you –"_ Suddenly she could no longer feel Tieran with her mind.

Before she had the opportunity to work up to a full blown panic, Tieran was sprawled on the throne room floor.

"Welcome to my castle, Tieran s'Artali," Jareth said warmly, lounging on his throne. "And you, young woman, I don't believe we've been introduced."

"My name is Alia."

"No family name?"

"Alia Gardner."

"Alia Gardner, you are welcome as well. You both must excuse the lack of ceremony. I am...a little shorthanded."

Alia looked up quizzically from helping Tieran up. "Shorthanded? What about them?" She waved in the direction of the hallway and stairs.

"That was the last of my vast goblin army," he gestured grandiosely, "the last of my household staff, the last of all of them. That is what I would like to talk to you about. I have a proposition for you."

Tieran became incredulous and indignant, "Because you have run out of goblins to drop kick into the Bog, you expect us to go out and steal children for you! There is no way in the Underground that I would ever do such a thing for you. You will have to wait and restrain yourself until they are legitimately wished to you."

"If you are finished flaunting your imagined moral superiority, I will explain exactly what I do expect," the Goblin King stated with a raised eyebrow and a tone of cold boredom. "Are you quite finished?"

"Yes."

"Certain?"

"Yes."

"Good." Jareth rose from his throne and started pacing as he explained.

"It all started about six months ago when goblins started disappearing. They were not running away. Where would they go? No one else would take the miserable creatures," he said irritably. "No one else would put up with them. They don't have the intelligence to run away, but I checked discreetly in neighboring kingdoms to be certain. They were not anywhere else. They were vanishing.

"Then other creatures started to vanish. The fireys, Ludo, Sir Didymus, Ambrosius, Hoggle. Even the old Wise Man and his bird disappeared.

"Then I started losing parts of the Labyrinth. The forest, the walls, the hedges, parts of the city. The gates are completely gone!" he exclaimed agitatedly. "Both the gates to the city and the front gates are completely missing! There is nothing but bare earth left!"

"I have not heard about any of this," stated Tieran in a tone of slight skepticism.

"Of course not," Jareth spat at him derisively. "You never were among the best informed, Tieran. Even if you were, you would not have heard it for there is no one left to tell it!" Jareth shouted, throwing his hands in the air as he continued pacing.

"At first I paid little attention. 'What is a goblin missing here or there?' I thought. Just one less to trip over. One less to add to the mess. Even the other creatures did not concern me over much. I thought perhaps they had gone to visit other kingdoms and would come back eventually. After all they were intelligent enough to find their own way. But when the walls started to vanish I became concerned.

"Walls do not go sight-seeing in my Labyrinth. They move and migrate across the Labyrinth, but they do not vanish without a trace.

"I began to search for the cause, for the thief slowly robbing me of my kingdom. It was about this time I began having vivid dreams." He paused in his pacing and watched Alia out of the corner of his eye as he continued. "Dreams of looking for a Prince and running from people looking for me."

Alia sat down abruptly in a chair Jareth had produced for her. He walked over and squatted in front of her chair while Tieran hovered nearby. "So they are familiar to you. I thought you might be the one in the dreams. Have you any idea what my...your...our dream means?" he asked her quietly.

Alia shook her head. "I only just figured out a few days ago that I had been dreaming about you before I ever saw you in the movie."

"No matter. I believe I have an idea of the dream's meaning, but let me continue my story." He stood and began to pace again.

"As I said I began to look for the source of my problem. This search took me to your world, to Earth. I found the disappearances to be related to the movie you just mentioned. That cursed movie! I should never have allowed it to be made, but it appealed to my vanity and seemed fairly accurate for the most part. If I had known, vanity or no vanity...," he trailed off, pausing in his pacing then shook his head to dismiss it. "But that does me no good now."

"I found that in your world another movie was being produced. No, it was not a movie," he corrected himself. "It was a television series. Rather, it is a television series, for they are still making it and my kingdom is still disappearing." He sat on his throne.

"As I understand it, the company making this series has developed a new technique for computer animation. Somehow this technique manages to capture its subjects, my subjects," he corrected with a mirthless laugh, "and store them for future use. It stores them on discs, like compact discs, ...like the discs in the dream. They call them Imprints."

"Not Prince, but 'Prints. That was what the dream was referring to!" Alia exclaimed, unable to refrain from interrupting in her excitement over the revelation.

"Yes, exactly. 'Prints." He walked over to the window and looked out. "My whole kingdom is gradually being transformed to a series of 0's and 1's on a disc to be used for computer animation."

"How does this involve us? Why am I here?" asked Tieran.

Jareth looked at him from where he was leaning against the window frame. "It involves you, my dear Tieran, because once they have had success with the Labyrinth, they will move on to the 'fiction' in the rest of the Underground. Everything will be a vast wasteland, turned to bits stored on a disc."

"And where do I come in? Why do you need me?" persisted Alia, not entirely satisfied with his answer to Tieran's question.

The Goblin King looked out the window again. "I need you because I cannot do anything about it," he admitted quietly. "They would recognize me if I tried, but I cannot even try. Fortunately for me, I found out what they were doing before it was my turn to be animated. Since then I have been fighting them off, but it takes most of my magic to do so. The little I have had to spare, I have been using to aid you, Alia."

"Aid me? How?" Alia was confused.

He turned fiercely away from the window, his mood changing again. "Why do you think that genie had the sudden notion to grant you a wish? He was certainly not happy when you ran him off and he tends to hold grudges. He gave you the wish because I told him to do so."

"Oh. How else did you help me? The bridge?"

"No, the bridge is always that way. But who do you think caught you when you slipped on the cliff?"

"The vine did – "

"No, I did using the vine. It was my fault you slipped. I had to do something."

"Your fault? The worm startled me."

"Yeah, an' jest oo do you fink that worm was? Fooled you right proper, I did." He mimicked the worm's accent perfectly and smiled.

"I thought he was just a worm. So you told me about the tunnel... And what about that quote from 'Princess Bride?' You wouldn't say something like that."

"All part of the character. Where did you get the ridiculous idea to climb that cliff?"

"I didn't know any other way to get to the top," Alia said defensively.

"If you knew she was in the tunnels, why did you not help her when she was lost?" Tieran asked.

"I tried to help her. The little fool ran and got lost when I came looking for her."

"So it was you I heard coming down the corridor toward me," Alia mused. "I don't think I was a fool. If you were trying to keep your presence a secret what would you have done? Waved your arms about and shouted 'Oy, over 'ere?' You would have done exactly as I did."

"But I would not have been so foolish as to lose sight of the corridor."

"If I could see the corridor I could be seen from the corridor."

"Enough arguing you two," Tieran interrupted before it could go any further. "Jareth, why did you leave her lost in those tunnels once you knew what happened? From what she said, she was almost killed by that monster."

"It took me some time to find her. The network of tunnels in the cliff is vast and shifts just as the Labyrinth does. Also, for some reason, I cannot track Alia in the same way I can others. I did save her from that monster as you called it. Its proper name is a tunnel hunter. The goblins, with their characteristic understatement, call them biters. They are the adult form of the nippers you saw in the movie. It must have escaped. Usually they are kept penned and bred by the goblins for the young, but that is another thing that has suffered from these marauding animators."

"What happened to it? I remember seeing a flash of red light as it leapt at me, but I never saw it after that," Alia asked.

"I used the ruby crystal in the ceiling of the chamber to transfer it to an oubliette for safe keeping until things return to normal. Perhaps it will give the animators a surprise," he said with a predatory smile.

"Thank you for saving me from it."

"I assure you, it was purely in my own self-interest." He came to stand over her intimidatingly while she sat in the chair. "I never would have bothered if I knew you would try that idiotic stunt on the stairs. You nearly killed us both. I cannot imagine what possessed you to try to jump over the goblins. You would have broken your neck."

"Actually, I rather thought I'd tackle you. You would have cushioned my fall and with any luck not been able to continue chasing me. It was an appealing idea at the time."

"Yes, and broken my neck, too."

"Now wait, Jareth. You cannot have it both ways – either she fails and breaks her neck or succeeds and breaks yours. She cannot do both," Tieran laughed.

"Yes, well, it was a stupid idea on her part in either case," the Goblin King muttered, turning away again.

"Now that you have saved the natural disaster Alia from herself, I believe you said you did it for self-serving reasons and mentioned a proposition. That usually involves an exchange. How does Alia help you and what does she get from it?" Tieran asked, changing the subject.

"She will do what I cannot. She will stop this company."

"So this is how Alia saves the Labyrinth. This is why the prophecy was written," Tieran mused. "It was to get her here."

"What prophecy?" demanded the Goblin King.

Tieran quoted,

"Another will come to the castle beyond the Labyrinth, beyond the Goblin City,  
Who will not pass the Labyrinth  
And yet, will pass through trials,  
Seeing what others cannot –  
The stone that is not as it seems.

Another will come,  
To take back what is needed, what is stolen,  
That which is not as it seems,  
The dream, the circle, the orb, the aliment,  
For the life of one who is dear."

"Is that why she is here? I had wondered. You're missing a verse:

Another will come in recompense,  
To do the duty of the King,  
To regain the subjects,  
To preserve the kingdom,  
To restore the throne,  
To return the king.

I thought it referred to an usurper and suppressed the whole prophecy. I should have known suppression never works. I am surprised though, that the last verse did not survive with the rest. Perhaps the connection with this prophecy explains why I cannot track her."

"So you went to all this trouble for her without even remembering the prophecy? Just on the chance that she would help you?" Tieran seemedmore than a little surprised.

"Yes. What other choice did I have? An opportunity presented itself and I took it. And she seemed determined enough. But it's not just Alia who is going to help me. I believe you profited from the plan to steal the peaches as well, didn't you? You should also participate in the compensation."

"Me? I do not belong in her world."

"And she doesn't belong in this one. If you wish not to participate you may return the peaches."

"But we don't know where they are," Alia objected.

"I beg to differ." Jareth looked at Tieran significantly.

"I put them in the bag and they're not there anymore," Alia explained. "I can't find them. I don't know where they are."

"I believe someone else does," he said still looking at Tieran.

"Tieran, what is he talking about?" Alia finally caught his point and looked at Tieran, who had a peculiar expression on his face. "They weren't in the bag. Where were they?"

"I was not able to remove you from the castle, but I was able to remove the peaches from the bag. They are safely away from here," he admitted.

"You mean you've had them all along?" Alia was outraged. "Why didn't you tell me? You would have let him put me in an oubliette and kept the peaches for yourself safely at your own castle. Why you...you..." Alia ran out of words to express herself and started to hit him with the satchel which she still carried in her hand.

"I was going to get one to Cara and then rescue you," he tried to explain as he covered his head against the limp leather bag.

Suddenly, before she could think of something more dangerous to put in it, Alia's weapon disappeared. "Now, now, children. That is enough of that." Alia and Tieran both turned to Jareth where he stood holding the satchel in his hand.

"Feel better?" he asked Alia. Before she could answer he turned to Tieran. "I believe that outburst speaks for itself. If you do not participate, I will not be the only one you'll have to deal with. If the two of you succeed, you may keep the peaches without any further retribution from me. At this point, you could have the whole damn tree full, for all that I care, as long as the tree is still here. However, if you refuse or fail, I will do my utmost to see that you are put into an oubliette. I believe they will be starting on those soon," he said with another predatory smile.

* * *

Disclaimer, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.

Don't you just wish someone was doing a television series? We wouldn't want them cannibalizing the Labyrinth of course, but a new series would be nice.


	15. Chapter 15

"Then we are off to kill a company. Did you have a plan for this already? Do you know, can you get stuff off the discs without using the computer, by using magic?" Alia asked the Goblin King.

"I haven't had the opportunity to try."

"So we need to see if it can be done before we disable the computer. We have to disable the computer, otherwise they'll just do it again. We'll need the plans for the system and software, too, so they can't rebuild it," said Alia, thinking out loud, then she changed directions.

"First, before we do anything though, I want a bath. I've lost track of how long it has been since I've had one and I'm not going any further without one. And food. I want a real sit-down-at-a-table meal for a change."

"I would offer my hospitality, but I am rather afraid it might disappear at any moment. You may stay here if you wish to risk it or I can return you home."

"Home home?" Alia shook her head. "I don't think so. I would scare Cara looking like this and waste time cleaning up first. If I do it here I can still return at the same time."

"We could return to my home." Tieran suggested.

"That is more what I had in mind," responded Jareth as he reclined on his throne.

"Will you be coming with us?" inquired Tieran.

"I think not. I will stay here and watch the remnants of my kingdom vani – "

Suddenly Jareth was sprawled as unceremoniously on the floor as Tieran had been earlier.

Tieran laughed. "I think they have started on your furnishings."

Jareth glared at Tieran and Alia tried not to giggle or smile as she diplomatically offered a hand to help the Goblin King up.

"I am sorry Your Highness, but that decides it. I really wanted to sit on a chair at the dinner table." She barely contained her laughter.

"You are certain you do not want to come with us?" Tieran asked, clearing his throat and trying to be serious.

"No, no, just go before something else disappears," Jareth answered irritably. "Don't forget this," he said, tossing the satchel back to Alia, "and pick up your things out in the hall. I'm beginning to enjoy being able to see the floor."

They walked back toward the entrance of the throne room leaving the Goblin King standing where his throne had been.

"Tieran."

Tieran turned and quickly caught the crystal the King threw at him.

"Keep me informed."

"Of course," Tieran assented and bowed with an exaggerated flourish.

Tieran joined Alia in the hall and they gathered the scattered items. Alia slung the knapsack and satchel over her shoulder again.

"Do we have to go straight back or can we make some stops along the way?" Alia asked thoughtfully before they left.

"We can stop if you like. Why? Where?"

"While I've got the chance, I'd like to get the riddles to the genie and we should let Arten'barad know what has happened."

Tieran nodded and held out his hands.

Alia took them and was hit by the oven heat of a desert approaching noon. They stood just outside the oasis, where the blue of the sand and the green of the palms looked deceptively cool. The genie immediately appeared to challenge them.

"No one may approach who – hey, it's you again."

"I can't stay. I came to give you a book of riddles. They should keep you occupied for a while, until I can come back." Tieran produced the book of riddles and she handed it to the genie.

"Oooh, more riddles."

"Alia, that is not true," Tieran spoke to her in a low voice, standing close, while the genie flipped through his new book.

"What isn't true?"

"That you cannot stay. You have all the time you want to take. There is no hurry."

"You're right." Alia sighed. "I don't really want to stay and I'm using that as an excuse." She looked at the genie and grimaced as she faced the task so tedious to her.

"You want your horse back now?" the genie asked, interrupting them suddenly.

"Oh, Night!" Her face lit with pleasant surprise. "Did he make it here all right?"

"Yeah, I'll call him."

"Tieran can you take him with us?"

"It would be easier to take him separately. Would you really want to bring him when we stop to see Arten'barad?"

"That's true. Could you take him to your house and while I stay to riddle with the genie?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." She started to move off toward the genie, then turned when a thought occurred to her. "Um, ...how do you transport a horse?"

"I am not sure. I have never done it before," he grinned.

They both watched as 'Night galloped toward them and his saddle and trappings appeared on the sand nearby. Alia saddled the horse and introduced Tieran to him.

"Well, he seemed to be a fairly intelligent horse before, maybe you can explain it to him," she suggested.

While Tieran was trying to explain what he wanted to the desert horse, Alia started her riddles with the genie.

"There is something the dead eat, but if the living eat it they die...," the genie read.

She became so involved in the game she did not notice when Tieran left and then returned. Finally, she noticed him sitting on the sand nearby.

"Are you back already? How did it go?"

"I have been back for some time," he said smiling. "It went much more smoothly than I expected. Irielen was not as irritated by another unexpected visitor as I thought she might be. She told me everything would be ready for you as I was cleaning up the stables. It has been some time since we have had horses."

"That's good. I'm glad it went smoothly. I didn't know you didn't have horses now. Are you sure you don't mind? It's not a problem?"

"No, it is no problem," he reassured her.

"Well, if you're sure...," She turned to the genie. "Genie, I'm afraid I should go now. You know, I haven't even asked your name. What is your name?"

"Eugene." He looked doubtful. Was he uncertain that that was his name or that she would approve of it? Did he think she would laugh and tease?

"Well, this has been a lot of fun, Eugene. Thank you for everything." Alia stood up, brushed off the sand and picked up her bags.

"I'm glad you had fun. Thank you for coming back. People don't usually come back."

"You're welcome. Gotta go now. Enjoy your riddles. Bye!" She took Tieran's hands and the scenery changed to the clearing in front of Arten'barad's cave.

"Arten'barad!" Alia called out loudly. "Are you here? I've come to bring you news."

Alia dropped her bags again and turned around to look about the clearing. She saw no sign of the dragon, but hardly expected scorched earth and tracks across the clearing. "Maybe she's off somewhere reacquainting herself with the world again." She headed up the slope toward the cave while Tieran wandered down toward the forest.

Alia looked up to find the sun in the sky to get an idea of the time. Over the mountain she caught a glint of silver. "Hah, she's not going to catch me this time," she thought and headed for the cave. Then she remembered Tieran and turned to warn him if he had not noticed already. He was still looking down slope at the forest.

"Tieran!" she called out. "Heads up! Incoming dragon!" She walked toward him and looked over her shoulder back up the mountain. The dragon was closer than Alia thought she would be. Tieran showed no sign of having heard her.

"Tieran, get down!" she yelled as she ran for him.

"What?" he called back to her over his shoulder as he turned around. He saw Alia running at him, then, as he looked over her shoulder, his eyes widened slightly and his face became an expressionless mask.

"Get down!" she hissed at him as she reached him. She crouched next to him and pulled at his hand, trying to induce him to follow her example. He shook off her hand, but otherwise ignored her. By this time the dragon was nearly upon them, so she left him to stand and ducked.

"Must be some initiation ritual. You have to hit the ground before you're officially considered a friend," Alia muttered as she stood up and brushed herself off after the dragon passed. She looked over at Tieran who had barely moved.

"Are you all right?" He had turned to follow Arten'barad's flight so she could not see his expression. Now, after a moment more of watching the dragon, he turned back to her and she could see the excitement on his face.

"I am wonderful."

Arten'barad circled back around and landed in the clearing.

Tieran bowed and said formally, "Ancient child of fire, I honor your wisdom. May the wind ever dance under your wings."

"May you move among the stars and the fire of wisdom burn in your heart," Arten'barad answered with a little surprise. "I have not been greeted in that fashion in a long time," she added as she straightened and settled her wings.

"This must be the one you were talking to before," she commented to Alia. "I thank you for the greeting, s'Artali. Since you are here, I may assume you succeeded? Tell me all of the details."

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly?" the dragon cocked her head to one side like a confused puppy.

"Well, I got the peaches, but Jareth caught me."

"If he caught you stealing, why are you here now?"

"He needed something done for him so he proposed a deal." Alia went on to describe her adventures and to explain the Goblin King's difficulties, including the disappearance of his throne. "So we didn't fool him, but we got what we came for."

"Yes, you did." Arten'barad still sounded mildly disappointed that things had not gone as originally planned. "And there is the problem of his disappearing kingdom," she mused. She had enjoyed the disappearance of the throne immensely. "What an inconvenience. Perhaps I shall pay him a visit, for old time's sake."

"Don't rub it in too much, he's having a rough year. And after all, he's right. Eventually it would spread from the Labyrinth to the rest of the Underground. You might have been next. You'd be a very impressive computer animation."

"Mmm, yes," replied the dragon distractedly as she cleared her wings, preparing to fly. "You did not need anything else? No? I think I will go visiting." She left without waiting for any response.

"Poor Jareth," said Tieran. "I think he is about to have an unwelcome visitor."

.….

A goblin ran squealing into the throne room and dashed under the overstuffed chair that had been placed on the dais to substitute for the vanished throne. Jareth was finding it surprisingly comfortable and was considering upholstering his throne if he ever got it back. Jareth reached under the chair, pulled the goblin out, and held it up in front of him by one leg.

"What is the matter this time? Hiding won't stop you from disappearing you know. If it did I'd be on a small Pacific island by now."

"D-d-d-," the goblin stammered between upside-down squeals.

"What another one disappeared? You should be used to that by now."

"N-n-no," the goblin answered, shaking his head, "d-d-dr-"

"Well, what is it? Out with it already.'

"D-dragon."

"Has someone been telling stories again?" He dropped the goblin and it scuttled, unnoticed, back under the chair. "As if I did not have enough to worry about, now I will have goblins with nightmares."

"I am afraid the poor goblin is quite correct. He is not repeating a story."

The Goblin King crossed to the window to find the source of the powerful voice. A dragon approached his castle, stepping carefully through the gardens.

"You!" Jareth hissed.

"Yes?" Arten'barad responded mildly as she settled herself comfortably.

"No one has seen you for centuries and you suddenly reappear just as I am losing my kingdom piece by piece. This is not a coincidence, is it?"

She considered. "Hmm... Not exactly. Your heroine woke me from hibernation and when I learned of your plight, I came to offer my condolences."

"Oh, yes, I am sure you have. You always were known for your sympathy." His tone was filled with acid.

"Your lack of faith in my motives hurts me." Her silver eyes dimmed as she frowned. "Why else would I be here?"

"To gloat. To enjoy my misfortune. Perhaps to observe your handiwork?"

"Ahh, now you are confusing your methods with mine. I am here because of your misfortune, your misfortune is not here because of me. Just because you plot against everyone does not mean everyone plots against you." Her eyes brightened again. "I must admit I did enjoy hearing of the loss of your throne, but I had nothing to do with it. I only observe and enjoy, I do not plot and act."

"So you say. You have expressed your condolences. Why are you still here?"

"As you said before, I have been gone a long time. I thought perhaps you could tell me what I have missed," she explained simply.

.….

Tieran and Alia arrived on the colonnade by the garden again. It was still mid-afternoon.

"Do you arrive with everyone here?"

"No, the horse I brought to a field near the stables. The marble floor and steps would be a little precarious for a nervous horse. Go wash and I will find Irielen to tell her we are back. If you need me I will most likely be in the library again."

Alia found her way back to the room, which was strangely familiar, as if she had lived in it for some time, not just stayed overnight. The velvet of the bed invited her to enjoy it and reminded her of her fatigue. That would have to wait though. She could not bear the thought of getting into that beautiful bed this filthy.

She walked toward the bathroom, peeling off layers as she went. She left everything in a sandy pile on the marble floor of the bathroom and set the pendant on a shelf. She turned on the bath, found some bath oils, bubbles and salts and started combing through the tangles in her long hair while she waited for it to fill.

She looked at her brown face in the mirror. The tan or dirt, she couldn't tell which at this point, ended abruptly at her collar. Her hands looked the same, darkened to her wrists where her shirt-sleeves had started, but with the addition of skinned knuckles and severely torn nails from her attempt at rock climbing.

"Well, that's attractive," she told her reflection in the mirror. "I hope it washes off, otherwise it's going to take some explaining."

By this time the bath had filled, so she stepped in and started soaking blissfully. Eventually, the water began to cool and she rinsed off, put on a robe, and went to get dressed.

Alia found a soft silk dress of brilliant peacock blue in the wardrobe in the corner to wear. Her clothes from her world were clean and neatly folded on one of the chairs, but the dress was so much more appealing. She went back into the bathroom and admired her reflection in the mirror. As much as she enjoyed wearing clothing like this, she just did not have the opportunity to wear it often enough in her ordinary life.

The pendant lying on the shelf caught her eye. She held it for a moment before putting it on, just looking at it. Now it was a dark blue-green color that complimented the dress nicely.

Alia found that she no longer felt so tired, so she decided to find Tieran. She thought she could still find her way to the library, but at the foot of the stairs she changed her mind and decided to look at the garden instead.

Outside the air was cool, but the sun warmed her enough that she could walk comfortably without returning to her room for another layer. She walked down the steps from the colonnade and followed the path through the garden.

Flowers bloomed everywhere, in a rainbow of colors. There were no straight lines, no precisely aligned and measured beds. Everything was much more natural, yet carefully planned to produce an intricate tapestry of colors and textures. Soft frothy clusters of delicate carnation pink and intense lemon stood against deep green ivies, bold azure and sapphire, blending to grape and plum in intense waves of solid color, hung on vines in front of silvery blue evergreens.

She soon found a bench placed under a rose covered arbor near a fountain and sat, lulled by the play of the water in the basin and the hum of the bees among the red-black roses. She grew sleepy. Despite her common sense telling her she should get up and go in to sleep where she would be more comfortable, she lay down on the bench and watched the fountain until she dozed off.

She awoke some time later, near sunset, to the sound of someone walking along the graveled path toward her bench. She sat up and stretched just as Tieran came around a bend in the path obscured by shrubbery.

"Here you are. I have been looking for you. I thought you would meet me in the library?"

"I wanted to see the garden first, then I fell asleep on this bench. The fountain is very relaxing."

" If you are hungry, we can go have your sit-on-a-chair-at-a-table meal now."

"That sounds like a good idea. Now that you mention it, I am hungry. All I seem to do here is sleep and eat."

Tieran led Alia inside to the dining room by a different path.

"What was that thing you greeted Arten'barad with?"

"That was a traditional greeting or blessing among great dragons. My mother taught it to me when I was young. Our family has always been friendly to the great dragons. I thought I would never use it. Most of the great dragons have gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"No one knows. Either they have flown away to live in peace somewhere else or they have been killed off by those who think as you did, that they are dangerous man-eaters. Or elf-eaters, or what ever species the hunters belong to. Those that are left remain because they are isolated and avoid other species. Arten'barad is larger than any other that I have heard of remaining."

They reached the dining room and sat down to their meal. As they ate, their conversation wandered over various topics, mainly the indigenous plants and animals, and creatures in between, and what plants and animals from her world could live here. Then the conversation turned to the task awaiting them.

"You know, neither one of us thought to ask for the name of this company," Alia commented.

"I contacted Jareth again earlier this afternoon. He gave me the information he had collected."

"Did he enjoy his visitor?"

"I did not dare ask and he did not mention it. Perhaps she was not as hard on him as we thought she would be. I imagine he would have taken his frustrations out on me for my connections with her if she had strongly irritated him."

"That's true. So, what information did you get from him?"

"Conveniently, this company is located near your city. It is called Virtual Pencil."

"I remember hearing about them opening up their offices a while back. Cara thought about getting a job with them, but decided to stay where she was."

"Cara is an animator?"

Alia shook her head. "No, she works with the computers. Fixes them and the software on them for whatever company she works for."

"That might be useful to us."

"Yeah, ...I hadn't thought of that before. So, what are we going to do?"

"Could we persuade Cara to work for them?" Tieran suggested.

"I doubt it. We shouldn't ask her to leave her job for one that won't exist if all this works. The company she was working for was really nice and said her job would be waiting for her when she got better. She can't leave them now. Besides, we're the ones who are supposed to be doing this not her."

"True. It would not be right to ask her. We could ask her advice, though."

"If she gets well."

"Of course she will."

Alia moved back to the original topic. "So, someone else will need to be the inside man. I think it should be you."

"Me? Why me?" The idea alarmed Tieran.

"You don't have a history on earth. I do. We can make something up for you more easily. I'm busy going to school. And I can't draw a stick figure."

"Why do you believe I can?"

"It doesn't matter whether you can. You have magic to help you out. If nothing else you could just conjure up the drawing, couldn't you?"

"Perhaps. And what will you be doing?"

"Living my ordinary life as best I can until you need me." Tieran quickly looked up at her. "Once we see the situation we can better figure out what I can do," Alia continued, ignorant of his reaction.

"And what is your ordinary life?"

"Don't you know? I thought you watched me?"

"Tell me anyway."

"All right," she sighed. "It's going to graduate school, grading papers for professors, writing my own papers. Lately, it's been visiting Cara."

"Nothing else?"

"I haven't had time for anything else. And I told you before, I don't like going out to clubs."

"I thought perhaps you had hobbies, other interests, other friends, suitors, ...boyfriends?"

Alia laughed. "No, no boyfriends, no other friends really. Acquaintances, but Cara's my only really close friend."

"I see."

"Don't tell me you're going give me a 'You Should Go Out More' lecture, too. I get enough of that from Cara."

"I would not dream of it. You said I do the same thing, remember?"

"What a pair we make, sitting around by the fire knitting," she laughed again.

"As long as we are happy knitting, it should not matter," he said in complete seriousness.

"But are we happy?"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the rest of the meal while they debated their satisfaction with the way they lived their lives. Alia excused herself early and went to her room, citing the need to get up early in the morning.

After getting into bed, Alia lay there for some time, thinking back over the conversation at dinner. It replayed through her mind relentlessly, until she felt as though her mind was a mouse running in little panicked circles in her skull. She flung herself on her other side and tried to think of something, anything, else to distract herself and break out of the deepening rut.

She must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing she knew was completely awake and dawn was approaching.

"May as well get up now, I'll never get back to sleep."

She got up, washed and dressed in her own clothes from her world. Then she stood in the middle of the room, at loss for what she should do next. She grabbed the cloak from her journey and decided to go for a walk.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	16. Chapter 16

She had intended to walk about the grounds, but found herself at the foot of the tower stairs. She decided to forego the tour and climb the stairs instead. Unfortunately, the spiraling stairs triggered her spiraling thoughts again and by the time she reached the top the mouse had worn its way through mere dissatisfaction with her life to reach pessimism and depression.

She sat down on a bench and hugged her knees to her chest, pulling the cloak tightly around herself and waiting for the sunrise.

"I don't know why I even bothered to try to do this. I'll never stop that company and I don't even know if that fruit will work. It probably won't. Nothing ever does. Cara will die anyway and I'll be all alone." Walking across a desert, flying with a dragon, finding her way through the labyrinth buried in the cliff, and standing up to the Goblin King were irrelevant. She never even thought of those things. She could not see them at this point. Alia was miserable and she was determined to wallow in it as long as she could.

She continued her mental self-abuse and self-pity, not noticing when Tieran arrived and quietly watched her from the stairs for a few moments.

"Could you not sleep either?" he asked quietly.

Alia jumped, startled, and shifted her position on the bench to try to cover it. "I woke up early and knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep," she said in a froggy voice and cleared her throat. She quickly rubbed at her cheeks with the palms of her hands before she turned to look at Tieran. "I was going to go for a walk, but I came up here instead."

"This is a good place for thinking. I come here often for that." He approached the bench where she sat and she turned her face away hiding it against her knees again. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he sat on the other end of the bench.

"No, nothing's wrong," she answered, muffled, from behind her arms. "Everything is the way it always is."

"Something is bothering you. What is it?" He reached out to touch her hand where it clutched her elbow. "Will you tell me? Maybe I will be able to help."

Alia was stubbornly silent. She did not feel like being helped. She felt like immersing herself in her pity for a while longer and he was ruining it by sticking around. "Why is he always hanging around where he's not wanted? Maybe if I don't answer him he'll go away and leave me alone."

He sat waiting, determined to outlast her. As each waited for the other to relent, the sun rose, gilding edges and casting lacy lattice-shadows. Finally, Alia's curiosity pressed her to peek up over her arms to see if Tieran was still waiting there or if he had silently vanished. She found him, spangled with gold from the sunrise through the lattice, patiently studying her as she sulked.

"What're you waiting around for?" She was annoyed that he had madeher look first.

"I am waiting for you to tell me what is bothering you. Please."

Alia put her head back down on her knees. "I'm just depressed, that's all. Don't people get depressed around here? Just a fit of general dissatisfaction with everything."

"Dissatisfaction? With what? Things are going well. You have the peaches. You are not in an oubliette. You have made friends with a genie and a dragon. That is no mean feat. Think of the things you have seen and done and accomplished."

"Sure, I've got the peaches, but there's no guarantee they'll work. And there's no way we'll stop this company. And then everything will be ruined and it will all be my fault."

"How will it be your fault?"

"The Underground will be gone because I couldn't stop it. Cara will die because I couldn't save her."

"That is not your fault. Look at me." Alia looked up at him. Tears trickled down her face again.

"You will have done everything you could and that is all you can do. And what if everything succeeds?" Alia looked down at her feet on the bench and toyed with the laces of her shoes.

"You are assuming you will fail and that is by no means a foregone conclusion. Think of all that you have already accomplished that you did not expect to be able to do." Tieran got up unnoticed by Alia and moved to sit behind her on the bench. He put his arms around her. She tucked her head back down in the crook of her arm and shrank away from him into herself.

"The whole world is not your responsibility," he said, releasing her, but still leaning near and soothingly stroking her hair where the sun brought out the gold, copper and red from the everyday brown. "You cannot possibly fix everything and no one should expect you to. This situation is not all your responsibility. I am the one who brought you here. Jareth commanded me to stop this company, as well. It cannot be all your fault."

Alia began to relax under the caress and turned her head so that he could see her profile.

"It seems to me that you are counting your Caras dead before they have died. Even if the peach does not heal her – and I believe it will – anything may happen. I know you will miss her if she dies, but would she want you to suffer and mourn her before she dies? I do not know her, but I doubt she would."

"No, I guess not," Alia sniffled eventually.

"Now what would make you feel better? You cannot go back to Cara looking like this. She will worry."

"I'll be fine. Just let me go wash up and get something to eat." She swung her legs down off the bench and stood up.

"You are certain?"

"It'll pass, I just need some time and distraction. The sooner we get back and the peach works, the less I'll have to be depressed about, won't I? Positive thinking."

"Yes." He did not sound completely convinced. "Would you like to avoid the stairs this time?"

"That would be nice. Quicker." She held out her hands to him.

He took them and soon they were standing in front of the fireplace in her room.

"You are sure you will be all right?" he asked brushing the hair out of her face.

"I'll be fine," she responded a little testily, avoiding looking at him and rubbing at her face and hair where he had moved it, as though trying to push it back out of the way as well. "I just need to wash my face."

"Then I will go get breakfast."

Just as she finished cleaning up, she heard a knock at the door. She opened the door to Tieran holding a steaming mug out to her.

"What's that?"

"Hot chocolate. Irielen said you seemed to enjoy it last time."

"You asked Irielen about me? Does the whole place have to know I was upset?"

"No, Irielen is still asleep as far as I know. She mentioned it in passing the other day. Take it."

"Oh." She took the mug and cradled it in her hands as Tieran bent to pick up a large covered tray from the floor. She backed up and opened the door further to allow him enough space to enter the chamber. He set it on the table and removed the cover. "Breakfast," he announced.

Alia chose a flaky croissant-like pastry and wandered over to the doors to the balcony. Holding it in her mouth for a moment, she opened the door with that hand and walked out onto the balcony. As she gazed out over the landscape and ate the pastry, she heard Tieran follow her.

"When would you like to leave?" he asked her.

"As soon as I'm done eating. Are you going to come with me? I mean other than to just drop me off." She looked over at him.

"Unless there is a reason I should not?"

"I can't think of one. You might want to change though."

"Why? What is wrong with what I am wearing?" He wore much the same outfit as he had when he first appeared in the hospital.

"There is nothing really wrong with it, I like it, but you'll stand out. It's kind of ...um, theatrical, not much like current clothing in my world."

"Wait here. Let me see what I can find." He went inside and Alia followed to refill her hot chocolate and get something more to eat. He closed the door to her room behind him as he left. Alia returned to the balcony with her mug and a handful of berries to wait.

She was returning to herself already. She felt better and was starting to get fidgety. She tried to plan for the attack on the company, but just did not have enough information to do anything. "What was their name again? Virtual Pencil? What kind of name is that? I guess when they can do what they're doing they don't have to worry about their name."

Tieran walked out onto the balcony. "How will this work?" He held out his arms and turned around. He was wearing a simple white shirt with a band collar and perfectly normal – for her world – navy blue pants.

"That's perfect. If you had those clothes, why didn't you wear them the first time?"

"I did not have them."

"Well, you look great now. Those shirts were high fashion a few years ago. There's no telling what is now though."

"As long as I am properly attired...?"

"You are. If you are going to stay for any length of time you will need a change of clothes, though. Particularly if you start working for that company. Do you have anything else?"

"I would have to look."

"We'll have to go window shopping so you can get an idea what to look for."

"Window shopping?"

"You look, but you don't buy. Unless you want to buy clothes? What'll you do for money?"

"I assumed I would be paid for this job."

"Yes, but probably not right away. We'll just have to wait and see." Alia drained her mug, took it inside and returned to the balcony. "I'm ready to go when you are."

"Do you have everything you brought with you?"

"I think so."

"The pendant?"

"I think I left that on the table last night. Why?"

"That was yours to keep. Please take it with you."

"That'll take some explaining," she answered as she walked inside again to retrieve the necklace.

"Tell them it is a gift," Tieran suggested as he followed.

"It's some gift. Will it still work in my world?"

"Yes, just the same as here."

"That could be useful, too. Okay, I'm ready," she said as she slipped it on.

They returned to Cara's room where everything was just as she had left it. That seemed like ages ago.

"The peach! I forgot the peach." She frowned. "I never had the peach. Do you have the peach?"

"Relax. I have it right here. You have plenty of time. Only a few minutes have passed." He handed her the fruit. Where he had been carrying it, she had no idea.

"Cara. Cara,wake up. I have something for you. Cara."

Cara stirred and looked at her groggily. "What is it? Another movie?"

Alia hugged her. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too, I guess." Cara hesitantly hugged her back. "I was only asleep for half an hour. You've been working too hard. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I've got something for you." She held the peach out to Cara. "Here, eat it."

"After that movie we watched, you want me to eat a peach? You have lost it. It was a movie, Alia. It wasn't real. Besides, all it did was give hallucinations. Nothing it did was real, even in the movie."

"So this one won't do anything, will it? Just eat it. Do you want me to cut it up?"

"No, it's fine. They're not on my diet you know. The doctors are going to kill me."

"No, they won't. You're too interesting a case."

"Hey, this is good!" said Cara, mopping up the juice as it ran down her chin. "Where'd you find it? They're not in season."

"It's a long story."

"I've only been asleep a little while. How long can it be?"

"You'd never guess. I'll tell you later." Alia looked at the wall clock, her watch having lost the correct time long ago. "Visiting hours are almost over. I've got to go. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow," Alia said as she gathered up her books and papers. "Make sure you eat all of that before the nurse comes by and takes it away. Oh, and save the pit. We might be able to use it. Come on, let's go."

"No problem," Cara slurped around a mouthful of peach as she held up a two-thirds naked peach pit. "Wait a minute. Who's he?" she asked, noticing Tieran for the first time.

"Remember the tall, dark, handsome, mysterious stranger I joked about? Well, he's tall-ish, mysterious," she looked at Tieran, "and I guess he's handsome, too. His name is Tieran and he's a big part of the long story. We'll be back to tell you tomorrow. I promise." Alia bent and kissed Cara on the cheek. "I've got to go. Eat your peach. Come on."

She checked out the door for nurses then grabbed Tieran and hurried out.

"You guess I am handsome? I think I am offended. I thought I rated better than that. Why are you hurrying?" Tieran asked in a low voice.

"I just never thought of you that way before. I never thought you were such a peacock that it mattered. I'm hurrying because I don't want to run into a nurse and have to try to explain you, Narcissus. I don't think I could manage an innocent explanation for the presence of Cara's grandmother right now, let alone you. Now, where did I park? If I'd known I was going to be gone more than a week I would have paid more attention. There it is."

She dumped her books and papers in the back seat and tossed a few things from the front seat to the back to give Tieran room to sit.

As she was driving home, he asked, "Why did you tell her to save the pit from the peach?"

"Don't you remember? In the story the children planted the apple core and grew a tree that had exceptional apples and supplied the wood for the wardrobe when it died. I thought we might at least get a nice peach tree out of it – if we can find a safe place to plant it."

"Oh. I see."

"Well, here we are," she announced a while later, turning off the car. Tieran followed her up to her apartment. He held her books and papers for her while she unlocked the door. She took them back from him and he trailed behind her as she went inside.

"Shall we do more planning for attacking the company?" he asked as he watched Alia put down her books and papers on one end of the kitchen table.

"No, now we clean out the spare bedroom," she corrected him. "When Cara makes her miraculous recovery, they will eventually release her from the hospital and she will need a place to stay. She doesn't have her own apartment anymore, so we have to sort through all of her things stored in the spare room and find a place for them.

"Damn, I forgot to stop at the grocery store. There is absolutely no food left. I'll have to do that tonight, too," Alia said as she flopped on the couch.

"You go to the store. I will unpack boxes. I think I can manage that."

Alia looked at him from the couch as though sizing up his capability for the task. "All right. Hang the clothes in the closet or put them in the dresser. Everything else leave until I get back. I'm not even sure what's in there. Cara just packed up her apartment and we stuffed the boxes in there."

When Alia got back from the store Tieran was sitting on the couch looking pleased with himself.

"What's with you? You look like the cat that ate the canary. No, wait. Before you explain, there are more bags down in the car. Could you help bring them up, please?"

After everything was put away, Alia sat down at the kitchen table and looked at her checkbook. "I hope all that lasts a while, because I can't afford another trip like that anytime soon." She looked, chin in hand, elbow on table, over at Tieran, who was sitting in the adjoining living room again. "And what were you so pleased about before? Did you come up with a plan?"

"No, nothing that good, I am afraid. Come and see." He jumped up and headed for the spare room.

Where before the available floor space had been crammed with furniture and chest-high stacks of boxes full of personal possessions, Alia could now walk into the room and see the floor. There were no boxes in sight and it looked like a bedroom instead of a rented storage facility.

"What did you do with it all? Did you throw it away? Did you zap it somewhere?"

"Zap it? I took it to the Underground and went through it there. I unpacked the clothes with Irielen's help, but there were so many boxes and other things left that it would have made no difference in the room so I left them there. Now you and Cara may go through it at your leisure. Problem solved."

"That's good. I would much rather that Cara went through it, anyway. So what do we do now? The clock here says it's late night and time to go to bed, but my body is still thinking midday. I probably won't sleep right for a week." Alia turned off the light as she walked out of the room.

"Time for research and planning?"

"Good idea. Let's see what we can find surfing." Alia walked over to her computer and turned it on. "Are computers one of the items of technology you have because they are useful?"

"Yes, we have them in the Underground. I do not use them much, personally."

"I'm not sure what we'll be able to find. If they have a web site, we might be able to find out if they have job openings. I doubt there will be anything about how their system works – that would give away their trade secret. We might be able to find general information about the whole industry." She sat down in front of the computer and waited for it to finish booting and loading.

"First, we'll search for the company to see if they have a site. 'Virtual Pencil.' – C-I-L. Search. They do have one. Good. See anything about jobs?"

"There, in the fine print at the bottom." Tieran pointed over her shoulder.

"We click there. Let's see ...what choices do we have? Receptionist. That wouldn't get us very far. Then again, if there's nothing else... You never can tell where a receptionist could get. I can't see you with a multi-line phone though. Payroll supervisor. We could mess up everyone's paychecks, but not the position we need. Art director. Now we're getting somewhere, but not close enough to the computers. Animation director? That's closer. Might not require too much technical knowledge – management is notorious for not knowing what it's doing. Throw around a few fancy terms, schmooze, turn in an impressive resume, and you should have it."

"Schmooze?"

"Kiss up. No, that probably doesn't tell you any better, does it? Um...You meet with important people to make connections. I get the impression it involves insinuating yourself into someone's good graces so you can ask favors later. I think it usually involves a lot of flattery and charm."

"I see. A form of diplomacy."

"Ye-es, only it doesn't have such a positive connotation and is more self-serving. Like social climbing, only it's business. Think you could do that?"

"I would have to."

"I only hope that that is what an animation director does. Better look and see. Hmm, nope, it's more like a director of a regular film or play. That might not work after all. Unless you feel you can bluff your way through that?"

"Not very well. Is there anything else?"

"There are animators, modelers, illustrators, sketch artists. Wonder what the difference is between all of those?"

"They sound as if they all require more technical knowledge than I have time to learn."

Alia scanned the job descriptions and summarized them. "Sketch artists outline the story. Illustrators draw simple pictures, it sounds like. Animators probably do most of the work. That would definitely be too technical. Here's another one. Designer. Oh, they come up with what everything looks like." She looked over her shoulder and grinned at Tieran. "You'd be good at doing that for the Underground."

"It sounds easy enough with my personal experience. Do they work with the computers, do you think?"

"Doesn't mention them. Maybe not. Here's that other one. Modeler. They make models of the things that the designers come up with. And it mentions that they need to be able to use the computers. Maybe you could do a little of both? Kind of apply for both positions at once?"

"Perhaps. They sound like the best positions to try for. I will still need more technical knowledge and terminology to 'throw around.' Can you find that?"

Alia nodded. "General information. Too bad we don't have the time for you to take classes. Can't you go back in time to before all this started and take the classes?"

"No, I cannot be in the same world twice at the same time. I have been shifting back and forth looking for you."

Alia nodded again in acknowledgement. "And if we go too far back, to before that, the information will be out of date. Here, you keep looking. I'm hungry. I'm going to make myself a sandwich. Are you hungry? Do you want one?"

"That would be fine, thank you."

Alia returned a few minutes later with two sandwiches in paper napkins. She handed one to Tieran, who was now sitting at the computer.

"It's peanut butter. Not quite on the level of the food served at your table but perfectly edible, I assure you," she said and took a bite.

He looked at the sandwich, took a bite, and chewed cautiously.

"It is sweet."

"A little," Alia agreed.

"And sticky."

"Notoriously. Would you like something to drink? Milk is good with that."

"Yes, please," he answered as he took another bite.

Alia returned with the milk and asked, "Well, what's the verdict? Is it edible?"

"Yes. I do not believe we have anything like it in the Underground," he answered after taking a drink.

"It's very popular with kids here. Practically a staple of their diet. And it's cheap so it's also popular with college students. Have you found anything?"

"Some. Can I print it out?"

"Sure. Like this. We also need to come up with a model for you, if you are going to be a modeler. They're going to want an example of your work."

"What shall I make?"

"Something from the Underground I would think. That's what they're looking for. How about one of those biters I ran into? No one would miss one of them. And that would be something that moves. Have you seen one of them?"

"No, I have not, but if you imagine it I could make it with magic."

"I wonder if they want an actual physical model or a computer model? You could follow it all the way through and cover all of the bases. Start with a sketch and then go through to an actual animation. But how do we know it will work with their computers?"

"Run it with magic?" Tieran suggested.

"Will that work?"

"As long as I am there, it will."

"If they want to keep it just tell them that you don't want to let it out of your sight, that you had one stolen once. That way we'll know they won't use it in their show, too."

"Show me what the creature looked like."

Alia concentrated and remembered the tunnel hunter from the caves under the castle. She pictured the hairless skin, the eyeless head with its massive mouth full of fangs.

"All right. That is enough for now. Let me try to put that in a sketch." Tieran opened his hand and focused on a small, iridescent, faceted stone sitting in his palm. As he stared at it, it turned into a sheet of paper with a pencil and ink sketch of the tunnel hunter on it.

"Is that how you do magic? With the jewels?"

"Yes. Jareth uses crystal spheres and I use cut stones. That is one of the reasons why you have the pendant. To focus the magic."

"So everyone has their own way?"

"Some methods work better than others for each practitioner."

"Can I see the sketch? That turned out really well. Looks just like it. Now a color illustration?"

Tieran produced another stone and turned it into a floppy disk which he inserted into Alia's computer. "Picture it again for me," he requested. "Concentrate on the colors and things that did not show in the basic sketch."

Alia did so, adding details to the head and mouth, placing the pink creature against a background of generic stone wall.

"I thought you first saw it when you reached the large chamber?"

"Yes, but I don't want them to know about that chamber. So I put it nowhere in paticular instead. Artistic license. Can you make a hard copy of that, too? A paper copy? I don't think my printer is up to that quality."

"I had better then," he said and produced another gem which changed into a matted print of the image on the monitor. "Next the model."

"Don't forget it needs to move."

"Yes. Give it more texture this time and move it so I can see where it is jointed."

Alia did as he asked while he placed a stone on the desk. She imagined the biter walking along the corridor and the stone on the desk grew and faded to pink, forming limbs and a head. Soon it was prowling along the desktop in front of the keyboard.

"Cool! This is better than remote control." She supplied Tieran with more movements, crouching, swinging its head from side to side.

"Give it more texture and detail," he said. "What kind of claws did it have? Cat's claws? Bear's?"

"The skin was smooth. The feet were more like hands. Like a reptile's or a bird's. Like Arten'barad's, but less like hands than hers. And they only had three toes I think. They had nails, but not terribly long ones like a bear has. Just long teeth."

"I think that is enough," Tieran said and the tiny tunnel hunter ceased its prowling in mid-stride. Alia picked up the burly little figure and manipulated its legs and head.

"Now back to the computer. Time to make a short movie. Remember what happened in the large chamber. We can change the background later."

Alia started by imagining the hunter trotting through the tunnels, head low to the ground tracking its prey. Then she moved her viewpoint around from the side to the front of the beast, to the view she had first had of it. She made it creep forward stalking the viewer and crouch, grinning just as she remembered it. Then it sprang and the monitor flared red.

"That is all you remember? Good! The circling around it is a good idea. That will allow them see all sides of it. I think I was able to put some of your emotion in it, as well. It will affect their perception of the animation. They will not notice it, but will just think it is a particularly effective piece of animation."

"Playing with their minds? Another reason not to let them take it from you."

"Only a little. I will need every advantage I can get."

Alia got up to take the glasses from their snack out to the kitchen. When she came back she said, "I think the time change is catching up with me after all. I'm going to take a nap for a while."

"It is not the time change. It is the magic. It takes a great deal of effort to image things, more than you would think. And you did more than you realize. You were nearly controlling the model by yourself. I only channeled your thoughts to the proper form. The magic drains you when you are not accustomed to it."

"Really? Does that mean I could do magic?"

Tieran shrugged. "You can use magic provided by your pendant, but whether you can produce it or draw on it yourself I do not know."

"Well, whether it is jet lag or magic lag, I need a nap. What are you going to do?"

"Oh, I will amuse myself. Perhaps I will do some more research, update Jareth," he said as he produced a crystal.

"Where'd you get that? I thought you said you used stones and Jareth used the crystals?"

"He threw it to me, or at me, as we were leaving."

"Oh. Well, say hello for me. I'm going to bed. G'night." Alia disappeared into her room.

"I will. Good night."

* * *

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.

I made up Virtual Pencil – it was the only thing I could think of – but on the off chance that some company has settled on such a ...um ...wonderful name, they can have it and I'll come up with something else. I hope I got the jobs clear and correct. If anyone has some experience in the field, I would welcome the input.


	17. Chapter 17

When Alia awoke it was nearly midday. She did not quite feel like going back to her real world just yet, so she called in sick for her classes and her meetings with her professors that afternoon. She would have to go back and catch up eventually.

"But not today. Not yet. Besides what would I do with Tieran? We need to get him settled in the job first." She got dressed and walked out into her living room, still yawning.

She expected to find Tieran still at the computer, but did not. The screen saver whirled quietly around the monitor. She looked out in the kitchen, but he was not there either. Just when she thought he had gone home without leaving a note she saw him. He was sleeping on the couch, hidden when she first walked into the room by its back and its angle in the room. She took the throw off the nearby chair and covered him with it and then returned to the kitchen for breakfast. She fixed herself some instant oatmeal, then decided that checking her email would be a quiet way to occupy herself until Tieran woke.

She entered her password on the computer and clicked 'check mail,' then winced as the modem started dialing and screeching. She quickly glanced over at the couch, but there was no movement. Once the modem had finished its noisy preliminary antics, only the quiet clicking of mouse and keyboard was heard.

Eventually, she finished sorting and responding to e-mail and found herself at loose ends again. She thought about what they needed to do that day. "I have to visit Cara – I promised. I have to explain everything and need to ask her advice. Then we have to see about Tieran applying for one of those jobs. He'll need a background – we can ask Cara about that, too."

Tieran sat up on the couch.

"Good morning," Alia greeted him. "Did you sleep all right on the couch? Why didn't you go home and leave me a note?"

"The couch was fine. I only intended to sleep for a short while."

"How late did you stay up? Did you find much more information?"

"I think it was about dawn, several hours after you went to bed. I printed off all I found and left it on the desk. Whether it will be of any use remains to be seen."

"What if we get you some textbooks? I know we don't have time for you to take a course, but couldn't you take them to the Underground and do a crash course on your own?"

"That might help. Would Cara be able to help me at all?"

"We'll have to ask her when we visit today. Add it to the long list of things to ask her, if we can get a question in edgewise. If I know her, she'll have a million questions by the time we get in there. The sooner we go the better, because the longer we leave her, the more questions she'll think up. Did you want to eat here or go home?" Alia looked at him critically. "You're a kinda wrinkled, maybe you should go home."

He looked down at his shirt and pants, which now showed signs of wear. "Perhaps I should. I will be back in a few minutes."

While she was waiting for Tieran, Alia thought to call Virtual Pencil to check on the jobs. She wanted to make sure they were still available and that there was no other information the company needed. She looked up the phone number on their site and called. She learned that there were still openings, that the company required a general application filled out with the resume and, at the last minute, she remembered to ask for their address.

Alia was just turning off the computer when Tieran reappeared. This time he wore a blue shirt and black pants.

"Good, you found something else." Alia bustled around the apartment picking up a few things laying around. "I just got the address for the company. I think we'd better stop there to pick up the application before we stop at the hospital. The application should give us an idea of the sort of information we'll need to fake your ID. There's no telling how long it will take to explain all this to Cara." Alia turned to Tieran, done tidying. "Ready?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"Just waiting for you."

"Of course," Tieran said with a smile as he followed her out the door.

She drove to the other side of town and found Virtual Pencil easily. A long drive and large parking lot separated the new, free-standing building from the main road. Two multi-story wings ran back at angles from either side of the slightly taller glass-fronted central section with a curved face. The entrance hall occupied most of this center block and rose the full height of the building. Alia saw elevators at the rear of the hall with twin staircases on either side curving up to long bridges or balconies running from wing to wing on the next floor. Planters of small trees and other decorative plants stood here and there, scattered throughout the foyer. The receptionist sitting at the desk gave them the application papers and they left for the marathon question session at the hospital.

As they were walking into the hospital, Alia asked Tieran, "Did you talk to Jareth?"

"Yes. I gave him a report. He was less than pleased that we had been spending precious time shopping, cleaning, and drawing pictures."

"Oh! We forgot to ask if we could use the tunnel hunter. Did he object?"

"At first, he resented the liberty of using one of his creatures, but once I explained why we needed it and that we would not let them take it, he decided he could spare one for the cause if necessary."

"Awfully generous of him considering it's his behind we're trying to save," said Alia as they walked through the corridors of the hospital to the elevators.

Tieran nodded. "I also remembered to ask him about Arten'barad this time."

"And?"

"And he said she asked him to bring her up to date on local history."

"In other words they gossiped?"

"Yes, they gossiped."

"I can see it now. What was that line he said to Hoggle in the movie? About the bracelet? Just change it a little. 'What was that plastic thing hanging on his arm?'"

"Or better yet: 'You should have seen who she married. Such a pity.'"

Alia burst into laughter and got a few stares from passing nurses. Tieran already had the accent naturally and mimicked Jareth's voice nearly perfectly. "You sounded just like him," she said, still laughing, as they entered Cara's room.

"Like who?" Cara demanded.

"Like the Goblin King in the movie last night."

"What's he? A fan of the movie?"

"I don't know. I never thought to ask." Alia turned to Tieran. "Are you a fan of the movie?"

He shook his head. "No, I have seen it once or twice."

"So, he's not a fan of the movie. Then who is he?"

"Like I said, it's a long story. Are you feeling up to it?"

"I feel fine. Better than I have in ages. If they would just quit poking me full of holes and running tests and scans, I'd be even better. I swear there must have been a dozen different nurses and doctors in and out of here this morning and none of them has said a word to me. What did you do? Spike that peach with some drug that messed up their tests?"

"Not exactly. That peach was supposed to heal you, so it might make their tests look funny, but it wasn't spiked with anything."

"Oh, come on. Enough with the fantasy, Alia. I thought you were more sensible than that."

"It's not fantasy. I'm being perfectly serious. The peach was magic. It better have been after what I went through to get it."

"Yeah, right. Whatever. What was this long story you were going to tell me?"

"Maybe you'll believe me after I tell you." Alia sat on the edge of Cara's bed and Tieran found a chair in the corner. "It started a few minutes after you fell asleep. Well, actually it started weeks ago, but I didn't know that then. After you fell asleep, I worked on the stuff I brought with me. You remember?"

"Yes, of course I do. It was just last night."

"Well, shortly after you fell asleep, Tieran appeared."

"Appeared?" Cara commented doubtfully, sensing an unexpected meaning to the word.

"Yes, appeared." Alia turned around to look at Tieran. "You did appear didn't you? You didn't walk in?"

"Yes, I appeared."

"Great, both of you are nuts." Cara rolled her eyes.

"Just listen to my story without the editorials for a little while, okay?"

"Sorry. Habit."

"I know. He appeared and explained to me why I found the stone, why he was here, and what I needed to do. Then he essentially gave me a choice. I could go on the way I was and wonder If I could have saved you or I could go with him and try to save you."

"Save me? Wait a minute. Go back and tell me about these whys."

"It all begins with a prophecy from the Underground." Alia began and continued with the whole story. She told Cara about the house and the lake, the dragon and the desert, the cliff and the caves. She described the tree and meeting the Goblin King, his predicament, and how he wanted it solved. "So we came back here and gave you the peach. Then we went to my apartment and cleaned, did the shopping, and researched the company."

Tieran spoke up then, startling Cara who had forgotten he was in the room during Alia's narration. "That is where we will need your help. I will need to be knowledgeable in this field. I will need to get information and an identity and background to use to work for them. Will you be able to help with that?"

"I'm still not convinced this isn't some cockamamie fairy tale you made up for me last night, but all right, assuming it isn't – no, I can't do that. But I think I know someone who can. I don't know how you'll get him to do it, though."

"That's a start anyway. Really Cara, I'm telling you the truth. I wasn't sure at first either, but what would I gain by making all this up? What would be the point? It would take me weeks, if not months, to come up with a story like this in my spare time."

"I don't know, but things like this just don't happen."

"They might happen all the time, we just don't believe them."

Cara still looked skeptical.

Alia tried Tieran's tactic and asked, "Okay, if you don't believe, what happens? You don't help? What if you just play along for a while?"

"I can't ask this guy to make up a life for him," Cara waved in Tieran's general direction, "just based on playing along. I'll owe him. I'll owe him, big time. And I don't think it's exactly legal."

"Well, this is a good cause. And we'll help. We're committed to doing so many other things, what difference will one more make? And you're feeling better, that's proof that there's something to the story."

Cara shook her head, unconvinced. "If anything, that's proof that the peach was spiked with something and I'm still on it."

"The doctors haven't said anything to you?"

"No, I think they're a bunch of vampires. They come in, take some blood, and leave. They did another CAT scan this morning even though I just had one. Here comes another one," Cara said as a doctor entered her room.

Alia had met this doctor and recognized him as Cara's regular one. He was just the sort you pictured as a doctor: middle aged, glasses, dark hair graying slightly.

Cara confronted him. "All right, Dr. Stevens. What's up? What's with all the tests? If you're here for more blood, you're out of luck 'cause I'm fresh out. I'm sure if you ask anyone you meet in the hall they'll be able to give you some of it. I think I've had everyone in the hospital stick me this morning."

The doctor smiled. "No, no more blood. No more tests. I'm here to give you some interesting news." He paused and looked questioningly at Tieran still sitting quietly in the corner where he had settled when Alia began her story.

Cara dismissed him. "Don't mind him. You've met Alia and that's Tieran. He knows everything anyway."

"All right." The doctor still looked a little dubious, but continued. "The reason we have run so many tests today is that your routine tests from this morning came back abnormal. When the second tests to confirm this came back the same, we ran more specialized tests and the CAT scan. Now we have run out of tests and we're still not sure what to make of the results."

"What results?"

"Your tumor is gone."

"Gone?"

"It vanished overnight. There is no sign of it on the scans. Your blood work is completely normal. We have no idea why."

"I'm cured? Just like that?"

"It seems so. We'd like to keep you overnight and run one last set of tests in the morning. If they come back clear, you can go home."

"That's wonderful, Cara!" Alia exclaimed.

Cara studied Alia. "Yes, isn't it?"

Dr. Stevens, confused by Cara's unusual reaction, looked at his watch and excused himself. "If you'll excuse me, I must be going now. I have an appointment and rounds to make. It was nice to see you again, Alia, and nice to meet you, Mr. ...?"

"Just Tieran will do, thank you," Tieran replied and smiled charmingly.

"Well, then, nice to meet you, Tieran. I'll check in on you in the morning, Cara." The doctor left and the three of them sat staring at each other. Finally, Alia could stand it no longer.

"Well? Convinced?"

"I guess I have to be. It still doesn't make sense though."

"No, not in our world, but then, it's not all from our world, is it? What do you have to do to contact this guy and get him to help?"

"I'll call him and ask him. I'll find out what kind of information he needs and get back to you."

"Okay. Need anything else before we go?"

"Can't think of anything. I'll call you and leave a message tomorrow if I find out anything before your usual visiting time."

"All right. See you then." Alia collected Tieran and they left the hospital.

She decided to take him on a tour of the local shopping mall to get clothing ideas. On a whim, she also picked up a copy of the movie.

"You'll need to know what you're animating after all," she rationalized.

After dinner, they both had studying to do. Alia concentrated for as long as she could, but eventually succumbed to temptation and suggested they take a break.

"Are you ready to take a break? I can't manage anymore. We could watch the movie."

"If you like," Tieran responded noncommittally from the couch where he was reading his printouts.

"Don't you want to watch it?"

Tieran looked up from his reading. "I do not care one way or another. I could just as easily continue reading this." He held up the sheaf of papers.

"Don't you take breaks when you are studying?"

"Not very often. I find they break my concentration." Seeing the look Alia was giving him, he laughed and explained, "Remember, I have had centuries more practice at this than you have." He swung his legs off the couch and placed his print outs back on the desk next to the computer. "We will watch the movie."

Alia inserted the tape in her VCR and made some popcorn.

"Have you really only seen this movie once or twice?" she asked during the opening credits once they were settled on the couch.

"Yes. Why?"

"Seems odd, that's all. I'd have thought you would have seen it more often. It's about where you live."

"But I live there. I do not need to watch a movie to see it. If someone made a movie about this city or the one next to it, how many times would you watch it? Once? Twice?"

"That's true. I hadn't thought of it that way. It's only exciting if you don't live it every day."

They discussed the movie as they watched it, Alia asking questions, Tieran pointing out the occasional inconsistencies. Having met the real Jareth now, Alia had more trouble believing the Magic Dance sequence.

"Would he really do that?"

"Who knows what he does in the privacy of his castle? He must not have disliked it too much or he would have interfered with it."

"That's true. Maybe he was trying to change his image."

When the tape ended, they watched another movie they found playing on television. This one interested Tieran more, not having previous experience with it. When it ended Tieran discovered that Alia had fallen asleep on the other end of the couch.

He turned off the television and retrieved the throw off the chair next to her. After tucking it around her, he gathered the glasses and popcorn bowl to take them to the kitchen, but paused a moment lost in thought, watching her sleep. He shook his head, rousing himself from his thoughts, and continued to the kitchen. Then he gathered his printouts, left a note saying he would be back in the morning, checked the locks on her door for her, and left.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belongs to somebody else.


	18. Chapter 18

Alia woke the next morning to Tieran sitting in front of her holding a glass of orange juice. She realized where she was and threw her arm and the throw over her head as she turned and slid further down the couch. She heard Tieran set the glass down on the table in front of the couch.

"Mmm," she groaned. "What time is it?"

"Seven," he answered as he returned to the kitchen. "I hope that was when you wanted to wake. That was the setting on your alarm. And before you ask, yes, I did go home this time. Will you go to classes today?"

"I don't want to, but I should," Alia replied from under the blanket.

"Shall I try to fix you breakfast or would you prefer that I left?" Tieran asked as he leaned over the back of the couch.

"Yes. No. I don't know," Alia looked out from under the fringed edge of the throw. "Breakfast would be very nice, thank you. I usually just have cereal, so don't bother with anything complicated."

"I will see what I can manage."

After her shower Alia stared at her reflection in the clearing mirror while brushing her teeth and the strange turn her life had recently taken struck her. She resumed brushing then spat out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. Forty-eight hours or ten (Was it ten? She still had no idea.) days ago depending on your time frame, her best friend – really her only friend, the rest were just acquaintances – was dying and she was about to be left alone.

Now everything had changed. Cara was better and a new friend was making her breakfast in her kitchen. Things were moving faster than she was used to and she wasn't sure where they were going. She sat on the edge of the tub and dug her hands in her thick hair.

"How am I going to handle all of this?" She looked back at her reflection, fingers still woven through her hair. The line of contrasting color on her wrist where the deep brown of her tanned hands met her usually pale skin caught her eye and she held her hands out in front of her. "How am I going to explain that?" She laughed to herself. "Yeah, sure, I was home sick yesterday. They're going to think I skipped off somewhere sunny and exotic with this tan. Well, that's easier than the truth. Maybe that should be where I found Tieran, too, if anyone asks?"

She started to apply her makeup and frowned. Her nose was peeling. She had not even realized it had sunburned.

She found scrambled eggs and toast waiting for her when she returned to the kitchen.

"I think I've come up with a cover story," she announced as she sat down at the table.

"A cover story?" Tieran asked as he sat across from her.

"Well, they're not going to believe I was sick yesterday when they see me with this tan and they'll certainly never believe the truth. These eggs are good. Thank you," she told Tieran after taking a bite. "I figure they'll think I flew off somewhere exotic or something like that. So I'll let them think that. And it's a convenient source for you, too, if they see me with you. I'll let them think I met you there."

"You are letting people make up their own story? Is that wise?"

"Why not? They'll do it anyway and this way I'll know the story's something they'll believe. I just won't confirm or deny anything. Not at first anyway."

"If you think that is best."

Alia nodded and finished her juice. "I'd better go. What are you going to do?"

"Finish reading the printouts. Should I work on my wardrobe?" Tieran teased.

"All right." Alia took her plate and glass to the sink and rinsed them. "If you stay here, you probably shouldn't answer the phone. It'll most likely be a salesperson or Cara, but just in case... Cara'll leave a message anyway. I shouldn't be gone all day." She gathered her purse, books and coat. "See you later," she called out as she went through the door.

Tieran sat alone in her empty apartment for a moment, then he left as well.

When Alia returned to her apartment later that day, a message from Cara waited for her: "The tests came back clear so I can go home. I'll be waiting for you to come pick me up. Um, I called that guy. He says to come by his place. He says he needs to make photos anyway. See you later."

Alia grabbed her keys and purse again and headed for the hospital.

When she arrived Cara had finished off the release paperwork and her packing and was sitting in a chair by the window in her room, gazing out through the tree branches. Alia noticed for the first time that their leaves had turned and were starting to drop.

"I just got your message. I see you're ready. Did your guy say what you owe him for this?"

"Nah, he said he'd call it in later. Did you bring Tieran?" Cara looked around behind Alia.

"No, I thought we'd take your stuff to my place first, then find him."

"Find him? What's he running around loose?"

Alia shrugged and said, "I don't know where he is," as she grabbed Cara's suitcase. "I had to go to class. What's that you're fiddling with?"

"It's your peach pit." She held out a smooth, round ivory stone.

"What happened to it?" It was flatter and more circular than usual for a fruit stone, almost a disk.

"That's the way it came." Alia slipped the stone in her jacket pocket. "How are you going to find Tieran if you don't know where he is?"

"I'll call him, you'll see. Come on, let's go."

They drove home in silence with Cara simply enjoying the beautiful day and the change of scenery from hospital walls.

When they got back to the apartment, they stashed Cara's bags in the spare bedroom.

"Where'd everything go?"

"Tieran took care of it."

"He just gets into everything, doesn't he?"

"He was being helpful. Let's see if this works like he said it would," Alia said as she pulled the pendant out from under her shirt.

"Wow!" Cara's eyes grew large. "What'd you have to do to get that?"

"Absolutely nothing, so don't even think it. Hush, I have to concentrate." Alia held the pendant between her hands and closed her eyes to concentrate.

_"Tieran, can you hear me?"_

_"Perfectly.__ What is it?"_

_"Cara contacted her friend. He wants us to come to his place to give him the information. He has to take a picture, so wear something presentable."_

"Will this do?" Tieran inquired from directly behind her.

Alia jumped and opened her eyes. Cara stood in front of her, eyes wide and jaw slack. Alia realized that she had not seen Tieran pop in and out before, did not even really know that he could do that. Alia had at least had the benefit of that knowledge when she saw him disappear the first time. Alia turned around.

"You do have a mean streak, don't you? Did you enjoy scaring the crap out of us?"

Tieran tried to look innocent in black, a suede jacket, turtleneck, and jeans, but Alia could see laughter in his eyes.

"I thought so. You look fine," she said as she turned back to Cara. "Are you all right?" Cara was still looking a little stunned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Okay, I believe now. You've got to show me this place when we have time."

"It would be my pleasure," offered Tieran.

Alia quickly changed the subject. "We'd better get going. Who is this guy we're going to see? Does he have a name?"

"He likes to be called Ace," Cara answered as they skipped down the stairs to the car.

Ace turned out to be a shoo-in for a member of the Lone Gunmen on the X-Files, complete with long hair and anti-government T-shirt. He asked a laundry list of questions about what they needed the identity for and who Tieran needed to be. This was more than faking a simple ID card to get into a club. This was creating a whole identity database.

As Ace worked on the database, the other three worked on Tieran's application and resume to ensure that the details matched perfectly. Tieran became a highly qualified computer animation artist in short order.

"How soon can we use this? How soon can he apply for this job?" Alia asked.

"Everything should be integrated by tomorrow morning. Why do you need this anyway? What's so important about this job?"

"We need to take down the company," Alia answered grimly.

Ace swiveled his chair around from the computer and raised an eyebrow at her tone.

"They are harming a friend," Tieran explained further.

When no more explanation was forthcoming, Ace turned back to the computer. "All right. That's good to know. I'm glad I asked. That means you may need to disappear when the company goes down. Now I know to make the information easily removable."

"Would you be able to help us any, give us any tips with the animation?" Alia asked later.

"Nope. This is the only computer art for me. I don't mess with graphics."

"Oh."

It was late by the time they left Ace. Cara insisted on driving home.

"I'm not an invalid, not anymore. What are we going to do now?"

"Sleep?" suggested Alia from the back seat. "It's been a long day for me already and I have to get up early again tomorrow. I think. What day is it? I've lost track."

"Today's Tuesday."

"Then I've got tutoring tomorrow and we need to turn in Tieran's job application."

"We've got all day to do that. Can't you cancel the tutoring? Today's my first day back in the real world. We have to celebrate. I can eat real food again. Pizza. Hamburgers. Take-out Chinese. Chocolate. Nothing tastes the same in the hospital. And surfing the 'Net. I haven't done that in ages."

"Well, you can do that after I go to bed. Quietly. Maybe Tieran will join you on your culinary rediscovery. I've already introduced him to peanut butter and he makes a mean scrambled egg." Alia wondered if she going to regret having mentioned that to Cara.

"You fed him peanut butter? What did you think of it?" Cara asked Tieran riding next to her.

"It was sweet and sticky," Tieran answered carefully.

"That's the same answer I got. He also conceded that it was edible."

"Well, we'll just have to find something better to eat," Cara declared.

"I just went grocery shopping so I don't have much money. So don't expect to go out and buy it."

Cara said, "We'll see what you've got at home, then." She turned on the radio and started singing along, but Alia and Tieran rode silently the rest of the way home. When they arrived, Cara made a beeline for the kitchen to take an inventory. Alia collapsed in one corner of the couch.

"She has entirely too much energy for someone who was at death's door only forty-eight hours ago. Maybe we should have given her only half of the peach."

Tieran laughed as he sat down at the other end of the couch.

"Sorry, Cara," Alia said a few minutes later. "I think I'm going to bed. I've had enough fun for one day."

"Party-pooper," came the reply from inside a cupboard.

"Have pleasant dreams," Tieran quietly wished her as he watched her get up and walk to her room.

"Thank you. I'll try," Alia answered as she closed the door to her room.

Tieran wandered out to the kitchen to see what Cara had found.

.….

Tieran showed up early the next morning. Cara was still sleeping after her celebrating the night before, but Alia was up and dressed, waiting. Alia left a note for Cara explaining that they had gone to see about the job.

The crisp, clear weather of the day before was gone. It had started to storm shortly after they had gotten home and hadn't let up yet. The bright leaves Alia had noticed staring to fall from the trees were now a few limp rags hanging from the limbs or soggy piles and drifts of gold, crimson, and sepia.

"I hope our luck is better than the weather. This is pretty dismal."

When they got to Virtual Pencil, they both dashed inside out of the drizzle, trying to keep the portfolio dry. They got directions from the receptionist sitting at the desk in the foyer and took the elevator up to the human resources department.

Tieran approached the secretary to turn in the application and to request an interview to show the portfolio of drawings and model. Alia didn't expect much to come of this, but received a surprise when another person came up from the depths of the office to collect Tieran for an interview immediately. Alia found a chair and sat down to wait. She wished that she had thought to bring something with her. "This waiting is killing me. You'd think I was the one who had to get the interview and job."

Finally, after what felt like ages to Alia, Tieran reappeared, thanking the manager as he left. Alia hopped out of her seat.

"Well? How'd it go?"

Tieran passed her the model case and walked out of the office without responding. Alia ran after him.

"Didn't you get it?" she asked as he held the office door for her.

When the door closed and they had walked a short way down the hall, he answered with a straight face, "They offered me my choice of either position after seeing the portfolio."

"Yes!" Alia jumped at Tieran and threw her arms around his neck, narrowly avoiding braining both of them with the model case. "We did it!" Startled, Tieran caught her and hugged her back. After a moment Alia realized what she had done and started to pull away. Tieran let her go immediately.

"Sorry," she apologized, blushing in embarrassment. "I got excited."

"I understand." He smiled a little.

"When do you start?" Alia asked, trying to regain her composure as they continued down the hall to the elevators.

"Tomorrow, if I can."

"Great. We have to remember to tell Jareth. He'll be pleased."

"Probably." Tieran pressed the elevator button with his free hand. The elevator arrived almost immediately and they got on to ride down to the ground floor.

.….

Tieran sought out Jareth personally to give him the news and found him in the courtyard of the peach tree. The day was overcast and still, the Labyrinth awaiting its fate.

"What news do you have?" demanded Jareth as he paced the spiral paths.

"I applied and interviewed for the job today."

"And?" Jareth prompted testily. He was in no mood for games.

"And they offered me either of the positions. The tunnel hunter was a success. I begin working for them tomorrow, their time."

"Good," Jareth answered, still pacing. "It's getting more difficult to hold them off the castle and myself. More of the Labyrinth is gone and most of the Goblin City. Any more news?"

"Alia's friend Cara has made a complete recovery."

"How nice," answered Jareth with shallow concern. "Anything pertaining to the current problem?"

"No, apparently not."

Jareth stopped his pacing and looked at Tieran. "You'll excuse me if the fate of myself and my kingdom, which are still in jeopardy, concern me more than the health of some Earth female, which was a foregone conclusion."

"Foregone conclusion?"

"Once you gave her the peach, she was healed. Once you got the peach, you gave it to her. The prophecy said you would get the peach."

"Following that logic, your kingdom is saved. The prophecy predicted it."

"Yes, well, it is not specific."

"It was 'preserve the kingdom,' I believe."

"And 'return the king,' but not how the king is returned, or for that matter, who the king is."

"Worried, Jareth?" Tieran needled.

"Yes," he snapped. "There, I admitted it. Are you satisfied now? As I said, it is becoming more and more difficult to hold them off and I have no idea what happens to what has been animated. Would you enjoy that prospect?"

Tieran immediately regretted his question. "No. I apologize for pressing you on the subject."

"Just go do something about it." Jareth stalked off through one of the archways. The audience was over.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, and trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning dawned bright and clear for Tieran to report to work. The receptionist took him immediately to the director in charge of animation, a friendly man named James Green. He insisted Tieran call him James and immediately took Tieran on a tour of the company.

Tieran paid particular attention when James showed him the computer system, having been told by Cara that she needed as much information about it as possible. The server for the system surprised him enough that he nearly missed some of its vital statistics. He had had only a vague impression of a large computer running the whole operation, based on old pictures of room-sized mainframes. He knew computers had shrunk considerably in size, but was hardly expecting a desktop model.

"And this, here, will be your office," James was saying as they walked down the hall into a spacious room with a window.

Tieran, not knowing exactly what to expect for an office, walked to the window and said as he looked out, "It has possibilities."

"I'm sure with your talent and qualifications you're used to much better, but most of the staff appreciates having their own office instead of a cubicle."

"Yes, this will do fine," Tieran reassured him.

"Well, now that you've been given the grand tour and seen your office, I'll let you fill out your paperwork. After lunch, would you like to meet some of your co-workers?"

"Who will I be working with? Modelers? Designers?"

"We thought we would let you see where you think you could be the most help. I'll come get you for lunch. There's a small cafeteria in the building or we can go out to eat."

After James left, Tieran turned to the short stack of papers on his new desk and looked them over. Tax forms, beneficiary forms, emergency information, insurance enrollment, they all requested personal information that, until the day before yesterday, he did not have. Luckily, Cara had requested a copy of the files Ace had fabricated before they left and had remembered to place them in his portfolio.

He filled out of the forms with the information he had, taking care to punctuate his name correctly. The three of them had collectively decided that his family name could pass as possibly of Italian derivation, but would stand out less if he removed the apostrophe. His given name was still unusual for this world, but he had no time to learn to respond to a new one.

Finishing the paperwork left him with some free time until James came back to take him to lunch. He looked around the office. It was not large, but did have the large window opposite the door to let in plenty of natural light. The desk was L-shaped, running along one wall next to the window and then out into the room, so that he could sit facing the door with his back to the window. A computer monitor, placed in the corner of the desk closest to the window shared the surface of the desk with only the paperwork he had just completed.

The walls of the office were bare and stark white. He thought that a permanent employee would naturally personalize the office, but he had no idea what would be appropriate. How much would they bring in? What would be acceptable? What would fit in and what would stand out and draw attention to himself? Or would trying to fit in make him stand out instead? He would need to observe the offices of his co-workers and take note of their choices.

Boredom had set in by the time James came back to show him to lunch.

"We don't have any restaurants out here nearby," James said once they had paid for their food in the cafeteria and sat down near a window. "Most people bring their lunch from home or eat here in the cafeteria." Tieran reminded himself to ask Irielen to see what she could do about making him a portable lunch. He could not, in good conscience, continue eating off of Alia's limited student income until they paid him.

"I thought we would start with the designers," said James as they returned from lunch. He glanced through open office doors as they passed. Tieran saw that they were all empty. "Everyone seems to be out. They must all be gathered in the common area. You may have to meet them all at once."

Tieran disliked the prospect, but had to admit that it had the merit of getting it over with all at once. He reminded himself that this way he would only have to answer questions once. That would mean he would have only one story to remember in the future. "What would they be gathered for?"

"Someone's birthday? I'm not really sure. They take every opportunity they can to have a party."

The gathering was indeed for someone's birthday and had just started to disperse when they arrived. James collared a small group of attendees as they were leaving.

"Just the people I was looking for. I wanted to introduce the new man to some of the designers. This is Tieran Sartali. Tieran, this is Jennifer Simmons, Michelle Benitez, and John Swanson."

As each person was introduced, Tieran shook their hand and murmured polite pleasantries. Jennifer, thin with closely cropped blond hair, wore a short lime green dress. Michelle, slightly taller, with slightly longer black hair, wore a bright orange jacket over a black shirt and pants. John was also a blond, tall and thin. Tieran received the impression that the three of them formed a tightly knit group not open to outsiders.

As James introduced him to John, Tieran noticed another pair approach from across the room. "Ah, here's some more of the crew. This is one of the modelers, Amy McCullough. And this is her partner in crime, Thomas Cho, another modeler. If you can't find one of them, look for the other one, they can usually be found together." More pleasantries passed between Tieran and the tiny redhead and young man with a blue streak in his straight black hair.

James excused himself for a moment to have a quick conversation with another artist he saw across the room.

The six of them made polite conversation for a while until Michelle, Jennifer, and John, no longer the center of attention, became bored and professed much work to be finished in their offices.

As they left as a group, Tieran heard Michelle say in a private manner to Jennifer, but in a voice pitched to be heard by himself and the remainder of the group, "Did you hear that accent? Just wait 'til Sarah hears about that. She'll be down here in no time." John's response to this comment was drowned by Michelle and Jennifer's laughter.

Amy followed their retreat with a scornful eye. "Work to do, my foot. As if they'll do anything but gossip for the rest of the day. And you can be sure that Sarah will hear about your accent from Michelle herself."

"Who is Sarah?"

"The boss. The woman who owns and runs this place. I know what you're thinking, what a coincidence that she's named Sarah, right? Except it's not S-A-R-A-H. It's C-A-E-R-E-H, but it's pronounced the same. What her parents were thinking when they saddled her with that, I can't imagine. Maybe it's no wonder she turned out the way she did."

"Unless she came up with it herself. I wouldn't put it past her," Thomas interjected.

"Yeah, though she'd never admit it if she did. Just the same, she's a fanatic about the movie and likes to think she's The Sarah. English accents draw her like ants to honey. We had a guy from England here about a month ago to talk to the designers about periods of architecture and you should have seen the way she chased the poor man. You'd better watch yourself."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Are they filling you in on all the latest gossip? Know everything about everyone yet?" James asked as he returned.

"After a fashion," Tieran answered. "They have been telling me about Caereh."

"Then I'm glad I wasn't here. They usually know more about everyone than I want to know. I hope they didn't tell you anything awful about me?"

"All your deepest secrets have been exposed, James. You have nothing left to hide," Amy teased.

"Your name did not even come up," Tieran confessed truthfully.

"I can see you're going to be no fun to have around when it comes to teasing," Thomas told Tieran.

"I thought it would be bad form to tease my boss on my first day." answered Tieran with a smile. "I would like to keep my job long enough to redecorate my office. I have to have something to clear out when I am fired."

"You'd better check out the competition before you start making plans," James told him. "Amy and Thomas are the undisputed champions of office decorating around here. It was their first priority. And they're still always tweaking things."

"Come on. We'll show them to you," Amy offered.

Tieran could only describe their offices as extreme. They had installed shelves which held a few books and binders here and there as a concession to convention. Otherwise, hundreds of small toys, action figures, and models filled the shelves of both offices. Posters covered the walls not taken by shelving. Models hung on fine wires from the ceiling, that Tieran in particular, being the tallest of the four, had to duck to avoid. In addition, Amy had a large colorful kite pinned across one corner of the room and ceiling.

"How do you concentrate?" Tieran asked laughing at the riot of color. "I would find this disturbing."

"The blank walls are what distract me," Thomas said. "I keep wanting to fill them up with something. And the toys are a handy diversion when you have a block. I play with them and let my subconscious work with the problem on its own."

"I see I need not worry about going too far with my personalization with you two forging the way down the hall. Thank you very much for showing your offices to me. I will let you get back to work now – I understand I have more people to meet."

"No problem," responded Thomas.

"Stop by any time," invited Amy.

"I'll take you to see the animators next," James said as they left the two modelers in Amy's office. "One of them is having real problems imprinting his character."

"Imprinting?"

"That's what we call the initial animation of a character. He's been working on it for weeks. Maybe you'll have some suggestions."

Tieran asked with polite curiosity, "What or who is he trying to ...imprint?"

"The main character, Jareth. The designers and modelers had him fine and of course we had the movie to work from, but the imprint just won't work. Here we are. You'll see.

"Mike, this is Tieran Sartali, the new guy I was telling you about. Tieran, this is our slacker, Mike Barr."

"Hey, how's it goin'?" Mike turned and waved from his chair. "Yeah, that's me. I just draw the same thing over and over."

"So you are the resident Penelope, keeping yourself in a job?" commented Tieran with a friendly smile.

"Who?" Mike was totally lost.

"Penelope, Odysseus' wife in Greek mythology. She was to choose among suitors and remarry when she finished weaving a shroud. She preferred to remain faithful to Odysseus, so each night she picked out what she had woven that day. After three years, the suitors learned of her deception and forced her to finish it."

"Oh. Nah, I'm not getting married."

James cleared his throat. "Ahem, yes, well, actually we don't know what the problem is. We've had several animators working on Jareth. If it was any other character, we could leave him out or start over, but we can't do that with GK."

"GK?"

"Goblin King. Everyone pretty much calls him by the initials now."

"I see."

James filled Tieran in on the recent history of the animation department's problems as they watched Mike work. "Things started out smoothly, but everything started to slow down. The first few characters we did were designed, modeled, and 'printed in no time. Then the imprinting started fouling up.

"It has to be something in the software. It's all new, remember, and only the animators use it. The designers and modelers use the old stuff. This company developed it and hasn't distributed it, so we're the guinea pigs and get to find all the bugs. They never have found the problem. Tech support says it was just human error, all the animators' faults. Of course, we don't believe that. They did fine at first, why would they start making mistakes now?

"So, then we got a backlog of models and designs. We've got that mostly cleared out now. For some equally mysterious reason, the 'printing bugs worked themselves out recently, except for old GK here. He's still causing as many problems as ever."

They remained a while longer, watching over Mike's shoulder as he worked on Jareth. Tieran took the opportunity to contact Jareth.

_"Jareth, can you hear me?"_

_"What now? Get your first paycheck? Or did what's her name have a relapse?"_

_"I see you are in your usual good mood today."_ Tieran answered, unperturbed. _"I have found your animator."_

_"How nice. Do give him my regards."_

_"He is working on you now."_

_"Really? I never would have guessed. Are you planning to tell me anything I do not already know?"_

_"Apparently, you have been giving them a great deal of trouble."_

_"I give them trouble? That's comforting. Now that you have found him, what if he had an accident?"_

_"Jareth! I will not harm the man._

_"Not even a little?"_ Jareth pouted and wheedled. _"Just to prevent him working for a while?"_

Tieran remained firm. _"No, not even a little. They would find another animator, in any case. They have had several working on you already."_

"I think I'm getting somewhere today," Mike interrupted Tieran's thoughts. "I've just about got it this time."

_"He thinks he is getting close, Jareth,"_ Tieran warned the Goblin King.

_"I know. You must do something, Tieran –"_ Jareth's thoughts cut off.

"Got him!" Mike crowed.

"Save it quick before we lose it!" James commanded.

_"Jareth?__ Jareth! Alia!"_ Tieran called, still searching for any contact with Jareth.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.

You would not believe how many variations of Caereh's name I had to go through to get to one sufficiently different from Cara to avoid confusion and yet not match any names being used on the fanfiction list this was originally posted on. If by some chance there is someone is using that variation of spelling as a name (screen or otherwise), she has nothing to do with them.


	20. Chapter 20

_"Tieran, what was that bellow for? It hurt and I jumped a mile. Thank goodness you caught me studying alone in the library instead of tutoring a student."_

_"Sorry. They have him, Alia."_

_"Have who, Tieran? Calm down a little. I thought I was the designated panicker."_

_"They just animated Jareth. I was in contact with him when they took him and he just disappeared mid-sentence. What do we do now?"_

_"Are you alone?"_

_"No."_

_"Then pay attention to what's going on around you. And calm down, or they'll notice something."_

_"Yes. Right."_

"Are you okay, Tieran? You don't look well," James asked as Tieran released the door frame he was clutching with white knuckles.

Alia caught the echo of this question and prompted Tieran, _"Tell him a goose must have walked over your grave."_

_"What?"_

_"Tell him."_

"A goose must have walked over my grave, that is all." _"What in the Underground does that mean?"_

_"It's just a phrase people use to explain a creepy feeling."_

"You sure? Maybe you should sit down."

"No, I feel fine," Tieran answered as he sat down anyway.

_"You're sure you can't feel Jareth?"_

_"Not at all. There is nothing there when I reach out and call for him."_

_"Maybe he's just unconscious or disoriented. Keep calling him, maybe he'll answer when he wakes up or gets his bearings."_

_"Yes, that must be it,"_ Tieran clutched at this explanation, relieved.

"Looks like you lucked out. You got to see us conquer the Goblin King. Or maybe you're lucky for us. Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you. Shall we continue meeting the rest of my coworkers?"

"Yeah, sure. There's not many left. I'll check back with you later, Mike."

"Yeah, no prob. See ya." After they left Mike turned back to his computer to finish some fine tuning and muttered to himself, "Fairy. Excitement musta been too much for him. Oughta go back to Penny-pee and Did-he-see-us."

.….

Later that night, Tieran told Cara what he had seen of the computer system.

"Then you can't really just take the computers. There's too many of them. I assume that because Jareth didn't just round them all up and toss everything in the Bog that you can't take care of them with magic that way?" Tieran shook his head. "Then you'll have to cripple them on site. But there's so many of them."

"We can't just get the server?" asked Alia.

"No, all those other computers will work individually. It's all or none or there's no point to it. If they still have an uncorrupted copy of the software they've invented to do this with, they can just start over again."

"Then we'll have to find all the backup copies, as well."

"Yup. Everything," agreed Cara. "Now how do you cleverly steer a conversation to the secret location of the backups, originals, and written copies of a top secret piece of software?"

"Once we get them, how do we take care of the stuff they use everyday?" asked Alia.

"Only thing I can think of is a virus."

"Can you do that?"

"Maybe. It'd be easiest if I had the passwords and everything."

"More asking the nearly impossible," Alia sighed. "'Excuse me, would you mind giving me your password? I'm collecting them you see. No particular reason.' I wonder if Tieran could read it out of their minds? That's awfully unscrupulous, though." She turned to ask Tieran, who was sitting behind her staring vacantly, what he thought about the problem. "Tieran. Tieran?"

"Hmm? What?"

"No sign of Jareth yet?" He had been preoccupied with that off and on since he got to her apartment.

"No, I have been trying to find him. There is nothing yet."

"Have you tried using that crystal he gave you, yet?"

"No, I am not certain it would work without access to his magic."

"Now who's the pessimist? Can't it use your magic? Try it anyway, maybe the connection with him will make it easier to find him."

Tieran produced the crystal much the same way the Goblin King had in the movie. Alia made a mental note to ask Tieran later, when they had more time, if he could play with them the way Jareth had.

The crystal was wrong. It took Alia a moment to realize what was wrong about it. Instead of the faintly luminescent quality that even normal crystal balls from her world had, this one had a dark cast. Instead of focusing, refracting, and reflecting light as it had in the past, it simply absorbed the light without releasing any of it. It remained perfectly clear, unblemished and uncolored, but it was lifeless.

"That doesn't look good," Cara said quietly.

"I'm sorry I brought it up," agreed Alia.

As Tieran intently stared into it, the crystal filled with its usual light.

"Maybe it was just out of magic," Alia whispered.

"Yeah," Cara whispered back.

"Why are we whispering?"

"I don't know. You started it."

"I think I have found him," Tieran announced.

Alia instinctively satisfied her curiosity by reaching out to listen in with her mind, but this left Cara out of the loop.

_"Jareth.__ Jareth, I know you are there somewhere, I can feel you. Answer me."_

_"Tieran, thank you oh so much for helping me."_

"What's happening? Did he find him?" Cara demanded.

"Shh. Yeah, he found him. He's fine, his usual grateful self. Let me listen."

_"You are most welcome,"_ answered Tieran. _"Can you tell me what happened to you?"_

_"No. And I have no idea where I am. I can't see or feel anything. I'm not sure I even have a body."_

_"Cara tells me that the server is used for storage, so that is the most likely location for you now. We are working on a way to get you and the rest of the Labyrinth out of there and then destroy all the computers."_

_"Please be sure you do them in the proper order."_

_"Alia, I know you can hear Jareth, can you speak with him? It would be a good idea to have another way to contact him in emergencies."_

_"I don't know. Can you you hear me, Your Highness?"_ She still felt uncomfortable addressing him by only his name.

_"Yes, I can. Wonderful. Now, at least if am trapped here forever, I will have someone to talk to."_

_"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there. I for one don't want to spend the rest of my life entertaining you." _For some reason, Alia found talking back to the Goblin King easier than calling him by his name.

_"Nor do I relish the thought of hearing you complain for eternity,"_ Tieran added. _"We will keep you informed, Jareth."_

Alia let the Goblin King fade out of her awareness and asked, "Now could we hear about the rest of your day?"

"Yeah. How'd it go?" Cara chimed in.

Tieran sighed and slumped in his chair. "James Green, the director of animation, gave me a tour of the building. I filled out some paperwork. We ate lunch. James introduced me to some of my co-workers. A man named Mike Barr animated Jareth. I met a few more people, whom I do not remember and sincerely hope I do not meet again any time soon. I came home. That is all."

"That's not all," Alia protested. "Tell us about these people you work with."

Tieran recounted his conversation with the designers and modelers.

"They sure are a catty bunch aren't they?" Cara commented. "All forming cliques and talking about each other."

"I wonder if this Caereh is as bad as Amy said?"

"She'd be pretty pitiful if she was. It's probably all gossip," Cara dismissed.

"I should go home and get some sleep or I will not be fit to deal with anyone, pitiful or not, tomorrow. Good night, Cara. I will see you in the morning, Alia."

.….

The next morning Tieran informed James that he thought he would be most useful in the modeling area. Any stage of animation was closer to taking apart the Underground than he wanted to be right now.

"You're sure you don't want to do some of the animating? We could use you there, too."

"No, I think modeling is where I will work best. You looked as though you had the animation under control, despite your delays. Now that Mike has finished imprinting GK, you will have him available, as well."

"Yes, well, he isn't very versatile, but I said you could work where you wanted, so if it's modeler you want, it's modeler you get." James resigned himself to losing an animator. "Someone should be coming by later this morning to get you into your computer. I think it's all pretty standard, but if there's anything unfamiliar on it, I'm sure Amy or Thomas could give you a few pointers. If there's anything you need that they can't help you with, come ask me."

James left and Tieran amused himself by putting up a few prints he had brought in with him. He had decided Escher would be a safe choice, quirky, but not bright and distracting. There was also the added connection with the movie, though he had not chosen the print from the movie. He thought that would be too obvious. Instead, for one he had chosen a soothing pond with autumn leaves, reflecting the sky, a fish in its depths. The other could be taken as a commentary on the working world, if the viewer was so inclined, with laborers continuously climbing stairs around the top of a tower.

He had just hung the pond and was straightening it with his back to the door when a voice asked from behind him, "Tieran Sartali?"

Expecting the computer technician that James had mentioned earlier, he answered without turning around, "Yes. The computer is over there. I have not done anything with it yet. Does this look straight from where you stand?"

"Mm. I hope so."

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	21. Chapter 21

Tieran had the distinct impression that it was not a computer technician standing behind him. He also suspected that she was not speaking of the print on the wall. If it was the person he thought, it sounded as though Amy may have been right after all. He turned around. No, unless their usual uniforms consisted of tailored dresses with tight, short skirts, this was not a computer technician.

"You are not the computer technician, are you? James mentioned one would be coming by this morning and I am afraid I assumed that was who you were."

"No, I'm not. I'm Caereh Williams." The dark-haired woman held out her manicured and heavily ringed hand. "I make it a point to stop by and meet all the new employees."

"Particularly the ones with foreign accents," Tieran thought. "Ah, you are the woman who owns the company. They told me you would be coming to see me personally. I did not expect a visit so soon. I thought you would be much too busy running the company to be visiting every employee. Do sit down." He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk as he moved to sit behind it.

"Oh, no," she said positioning herself carefully as she sat down on the corner of the front section of his desk, empty except for the hammer he had left near the wall and a pencil, "I like to meet everyone coming into the company. I like for us all to be one big happy family." She smiled charmingly.

"With some members closer than others," he sighed mentally. Aloud he said, "I was told you were a great fan of the movie 'Labyrinth.'"

"Yes. What brings you here?"

"A job." He picked up the pencil and began to play with it.

"You don't sound American. You mean you came to the U.S. just to work here?"

"Yes. Most people do come to the United States to work, I understand."

She laughed, too loudly. "That's not quite what I meant." She tried another approach. "Your accent sounds familiar. I wonder where I have heard it before?"

"If it sounds familiar, I imagine you have heard it somewhere," he answered nonchalantly, but reminded himself to tread carefully. He did not want the owner of the company for an enemy – yet. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his feet on the edge of the desk nest to her. "Perhaps it will come to you."

"Where are you from?"

Pointblank. Could he manage a convincing lie? There was no way to evade that question without lying. Or was there? "Ah-ah-ah, I answered that question in your paperwork yesterday." He gestured at her with the pencil and smiled charmingly himself. "I make it a point never to answer the same question twice in a week. You must look it up for yourself." He hoped that he had not gone too far.

Fortunately, she laughed. "Now I must come up with a new set of questions."

"Or a new topic. I have one for you. Why do you like this movie enough to form a company for it?"

"The characters, of course."

"Of course. Why the company?"

"Now who's asking questions twice?"

"Ah, but you never answered it the first time. You told me why you enjoy the movie, not why you started the company."

She slipped off his desk and sauntered to the window behind him to look out of it. "It's the same reason, the characters. I wanted to create my own characters and plots."

"Why not write a story?"

She came and stood behind his chair. "Ah, but a character on paper is not the same thing as a three-dimensional one, one that moves and breathes." She leaned over him and placed her hands on his shoulders as she spoke.

He leaned forward, away from her, and swiveled the chair around to face her. "One's imagination can do even more than a good animation program. A program, no matter how good, cannot give you the feel, the smell, the taste stored in your memory for your imagination to use."

"Really?" She said with mock innocence.

"Did someone approach you with this new program or did you have them create it to your specifications?"

"I had them create it for me, but it exceeded even my expectations." She leaned over him again, face to face, placing a hand on either arm of the chair. "Throw enough money at it and you can get anything," she said in a low voice.

"Almost anything," Tieran answered in a voice gone suddenly cold as he placed the eraser of the pencil against her collarbone.

"Anything," she answered and backed away. She walked over to the door of his office and turned to speak to him from the doorway. "Here's a question I'll bet you haven't answered yet this week. What are you doing for lunch today?"

"Do you concern yourself with the lunch plans of all of your employees?"

"Only the ones that interest me. Have you been asked?"

"No, I have not. I happen to have brought my lunch with me today."

"The frugal sort, eh? Anything good?"

"I have no idea, my housekeeper made it for me." Perhaps that would stave off her ideas of buying him.

"Your housekeeper?" She frowned and tsked in disapproval. "A girlfriend or wife would have told you what it was."

"Housekeepers do not cost one as much."

"But they do not give you as much either. And they are not nearly so attractive to look at."

"Mine is pleasant enough." "If Irielen hears that I will never live it down," he groaned inwardly.

"Really? I must meet her sometime."

"No, I do not see that becoming necessary." "And that is that," he thought. "If she does not take offense at that refusal, she is not as spoiled as I thought she was."

But, true to form, Caereh turned a cold shoulder and walked down the hallway.

"Now I only hope I am wrong about how stubborn she will be otherwise I may have just lost my job," he muttered as he threw the pencil on his desk. It bounced and rolled off the edge between the wall and the desk. He checked the drawers of his desk. As he thought, that was his only writing utensil of any kind. He crawled under the desk to retrieve it.

While he was there, a knock came on his door and Amy called out, "Tieran, you here?"

He bumped his head on the desk and came out rubbing the back of his head.

"Did I startle you? I'm sorry. I should have known you would be on edge. I saw her leave your office. How'd it go? I see you lived. Was I right about her?" Amy sat on the desk in the exact same place Caereh had.

Tieran gave her a pained look. "Please do not sit there."

She got up and looked at the desk. "What? Did I sit on something?"

"No," Tieran said wearily. "It is just that she sat in that exact place."

"Oh, I see. Unpleasant associations. Gotcha. I wouldn't want to sit there anyway, I might catch something." She dragged the extra chair around to the end of his desk. "So did she turn on all the charm? Come on. Dish."

"I imagine she did, though having no previous encounters with her, I could not say for certain. I would not call it charm, though." He leaned back in his chair again with his eyes closed.

"But it didn't work? She didn't look pleased when she walked by my office."

"No. She even resorted to making vague references in the general direction of money and payment."

"Ah, now if we'd known that we could have taken care of her long ago."

"We?" Tieran asked, opening an eye and raising an eyebrow.

"Thomas and I."

Tieran frowned at Amy. "Where is Thomas? I thought you two were inseparable."

"Back in his office. He doesn't like to look gossipy, but believe you me, he'll be hanging on my every word when I get back," Amy said with a big grin. "This puts a whole new life in our scheme."

"Your scheme?"

"We thought about finding a willing man and sending him in her general direction, but we thought no one would want to risk it without a large incentive. We didn't know she'd consider paying and we certainly didn't have enough cash."

"Such a pity." He shook his head and leaned back again.

"Hey, that's a good impression. Did you know you could sound just like GK?"

"I have been told that, yes. Perhaps that was whom I reminded her of."

"Reminded who of whom?"

"Caereh said my accent sounded familiar. At the time I thought it was just another comment to draw me out, but if she is a fan of the movie, perhaps I was reminding her of the Goblin King." He would have to tell Jareth that he had found just the woman for him.

.….

Jareth, meanwhile, had found a new form of entertainment.

When Mike Barr, who had been assigned to continue with the animation of the Goblin King beyond the imprinting, loaded Jareth into his computer to work with him, Jareth found that with the aid of his remaining magic he could animate himself and see and hear beyond the computer screen.

"This has possibilities. Life in a computer may not be so bad after all."

He waited until Mike left his office to get coffee before implementing his plan. First, he moved everything on the screen, then froze as Mike came back.

"Very funny guys. Who's playing with my computer?" Mike yelled to no one in particular. "As if I'm not far enough behind."

Mike rearranged the background and foreground items back the way he had left them, then he refined a few details on Jareth and started working on his movement in the scene. He looked away for a few moments to check his notes for the scene.

Jareth took this opportunity to change his clothing. When Mike looked back at the screen all was the same except Jareth wore a more refined black ensemble of leather and velvet textures instead of the electric purple and blue snake skin textures he had been attired in.

"Hey! Who's jacking my terminal?" Mike exclaimed as he quickly changed the textures back to snakeskin.

"No, no, I think it looks much better this way," Jareth persuaded in a silky voice as he changed it back to his preferences.

"Okay, guys, you can quit playing around now," Mike shouted as he turned to his door.

"What?" asked an animator passing by in the hall.

"This," Mike said as he gestured to the computer screen.

"Man, that is pretty bad," the passer-by commented on the screen. "Who did that? GK is goth, not punk. He'd never wear that purple and blue stuff."

Mike looked at the screen. It was again the way he had left it. "No, that's not what I meant. It –"

"You'd better change it before James sees it. You know how he's a stickler for staying within a character." The observer kept walking.

"But –" Mike called out halfheartedly after him. He turned back to the computer and changed the outfit while muttering under his breath about practical jokers and sticks-in-the-mud.

As he was moving on to more of the animation, Jareth said, "See, your colleague agreed with me. This is much more appropriate."

"That does it. Out you go." Mike rebooted his computer. He reloaded the scene and started over.

"Tsk, tsk. That was very impolite," Jareth said. "I was only trying to help. You said you were behind."

"I don't need any help."

"Are you sure? You are talking to a computer screen after all."

"Damn new software."

"No, no, that doesn't belong there. The banner goes here by the window and the torch holder goes there." Jareth moved them to demonstrate his point.

Mike clenched his teeth and grimly continued working on the scene. The torch flame cast that shade of orange on Jareth's face there, the shadow would be shaped like this, the reflection of the flame in his eyes leapt like that.

"You have it all wrong," Jareth scolded when Mike walked him in front of a decorative hanging in a corner of the room. "There's no hanging in this room."

Mike carried on with what he was doing, ignoring Jareth's comments as he stood perfectly still on the dais in the throne room.

"You shouldn't ignore me. Who would know the placement of furnishings in my castle better than I do?" Jareth asked in a bored voice as he suddenly moved on his own to recline on the throne. If Mike had watched the movie a few more times he might have realized that Jareth was at his most dangerous when he was bored. Instead, because he did not want to believe that what was happening was real, he continued to try to ignore the Goblin King. Jareth nonchalantly produced a crystal to play with and refused to move as the programming directed him.

Mike closed his eyes, covered his ears and took a deep breath. He opened them again.

"Yes, I am still here," Jareth answered from his throne.

"I'm imagining this. I'm gonna go on with my work and ignore this and it'll all disappear."

"Really?"

Jareth lounged on his throne with his crystal, providing the occasional correction of the scene, until the animator moved the cursor to click on his face. Jareth batted it away scowling and stood up. "Beware. I have been generous until now, but I can be cruel." "What a waste of a good line. This fool would not recognize a quote if I slapped him with it," Jareth thought.

Mike tried to continue working, editing the throne for a change. "My computer must have a bug. 'It'll be easier,' they said. 'Just imprint the item an' it'll be a piece of cake.' Meanwhile, good ol' Mike gets the character from Hell."

"So you thought dealing with the Goblin King would be a piece of cake?" Jareth threatened. _"How do you like this little slice?"_ he asked him directly in his mind.

Jareth threw the crystal he was playing with at the animator. It hit the inside of the monitor and shattered, sending a cloud of crystal dust through the glass of the screen.

.….

A bloodcurdling howl pierced the air. Startled heads popped out of doorways all along the hall.

"Someone left their computer unattended too long again. You do that and you're just begging for mischief," Amy called over her shoulder as she ran to be the first in on the action and the gossip. Tieran followed her from his office at a more sedate pace, curious, but in no hurry.

His pace sped up when he realized whose office was the center of attention: Mike Barr's. That could be just a coincidence or it could be that Jareth had been experimenting. Lately, Tieran put less and less faith in coincidences.

By the application of some judicious leaning, poking, and prodding, Tieran worked his way through the throng close enough to the door to be able to see through it. Various sobbing, whimpering and other incoherent noises came from under a corner of the desk he couldn't see. He could, however see the computer monitor and what he saw there confirmed his suspicions.

_"Jareth what have you been doing?"_

_"Simply giving some advice,"_ came the too innocent reply.

_"Solicited or unsolicited?"___

_"When does anyone ever really want to listen to advice when it is given?"_

Tieran noticed Amy's red head at the front of the crowd and worked his way forward, knowing that she would have all the details by now.

"What happened?" he asked her.

"No one's sure. Mike seems to have lost it. I think he's having hysterics under his desk or something."

"Jareth, what did you say to him?"

_"I was merely trying to impress upon him the importance of paying attention to details."_

_"Jareth, the man is having hysterics. You did not simply remind him to dot his I's and cross his T's. What did you do? Throw him in the Bog of Eternal Stench?"_

_"Do you really think that if I could send him there, I would still be trapped in this computer?"_

_"Then what did you do to him?"_

Jareth sighed. _"If you must know, he thinks he is in an oubliette. It was pure coincidence that the man happens to be claustrophobic and afraid of the dark. I had no idea. Honestly."_

_"Jareth!"_ Tieran exclaimed exasperatedly. Tieran pushed his way through the rest of the crowd and approached the few people clustered behind the desk discussing what should be done about the man hiding under it. Tieran ignored them and crouched down so he could see under the desk. He would have to be careful about how he talked the animator out of his delusion, otherwise he would sound nearly as unbalanced as Mike currently was.

"Mr. Barr? Mike? It's Tieran Sartali. Do you hear me?"

"No, go 'way. Leave me alone. I'll listen to you, just let me out." Mike whimpered. He huddled in the far corner of his desk, eyes staring blindly in front of him.

"Let you out of where?" Tieran prompted. If Mike would explain what he was experiencing for all to hear it would make talking him out of it easier for Tieran. He would have fewer assumptions to explain away later.

"I don't know. Where you put me. Lemme out," he sobbed. "I'll be good. I'll do what you say. I'll put things where you tell me, GK. Let me out. Please. Lemme out! I can't stand the dark. You gotta let me out."

"What did you call me?"

"I'm sorry Your Highness. I won't do it again. I promise.

Please, Your Majesty, let me out."

The damnable accent again. Perhaps this time it would work to his advantage. When he spoke to Mike

again he imitated Jareth more deliberately, accentuating the likeness. "You will not be bothered again by the Goblin King, I promise, but you will have to get yourself out." _"Did you hear me, Jareth?" _Tieran asked._ "No more toying with the employees."_

_"I do not sound like that."_ Jareth was indignant.

"Nooo, don't leave me here! Lemme out!" Mike was terrified that he would be left alone immediately.

_"There is no time to argue about that now. I have one of your messes to clean up,"_ Tieran said sharply to Jareth, then spoke to Mike. "I cannot let you out. I am not the one keeping you there. You are. You have to realize that you are only trapped within your mind. You alone can let yourself out of there."

_"You make it sound as though this were a regular occurrence."_

"It's dark. It's small. There's no door. Let me out."

_"I sincerely hope it does not become one."_ "It is your imagination. Imagine space, a door, a light, and you will have it. It can be what you want it." Tieran reassured Mike after answering Jareth's comment.

"What are you talking about?" a voice demanded from behind Tieran. "What's the matter with him?"

Tieran had forgotten about the other people in the office. He turned to see who had spoken and found it was John Swanson. "He has been working on the same thing for too long. Would you please be quiet or, even better, leave us? I do not need any distractions." Tieran turned back to the man still huddled under the desk, dismissing everyone else in the room.

"Start with space," he told the animator, "Imagine that you are in a small niche that opens in front of you. You can crawl forward, toward me, and as you crawl you crawl into daylight. You are crawling out of the hole you are trapped in."

Slowly, flinchingly, Mike crawled forward with his hand out in front of his face to feel for the wall he still was not completely convinced did not exist.

Tieran lapsed back into his natural voice, "See, there is no wall; you are coming out. Can you see the light? What do you see?"

"The darkness is fading. It's going away. Why're you sitting on the floor?"

"Because you are sitting under your desk. I think perhaps we should find James and tell him you need a vacation."

"I'm here," James said from the other side of the desk. "I think you should go home now, Mike, maybe even consider seeing a doctor to make sure you're okay."

"Where did the crowd go?" Tieran asked.

"Most of them left when you told them to," answered Thomas. "Some of them took some persuading, but Amy and I managed to get them cleared out. Come on, Mike, I'll run interference for you down to your car."

"When did he turn up?" Tieran asked James about Thomas.

"Just before Mike called you GK. He's right you do sound like him. Especially when you try. You should go down and talk to sound. I think they're still looking for someone to do his voice. I doubt they'd find anyone who sounds more like him than you do."

_"I can think of one."_

_"Are you still here? Looking for opportunities to cause more trouble? I thought Alia and I were the ones handling this. If you believe you can manage it on your own, I am sure that she and I would be happy to surrender the whole operation to you."_

_"My, my, now who has the short temper?"_

"But, they won't need you to do the voice if we can't get him done," James commented. Tieran found himself glaring at the computer monitor displaying Jareth sitting on his throne. "He sure is causing us a lot of trouble. I don't know what we'll do with him now. He's getting a bad reputation. I doubt anyone will want to take over working on him now. We may have to piece him out."

Tieran sighed. Doing the main character was taking a risk, but he thought that between Jareth and himself they could manage a decent end product. "I could do him for you. I do not have as many preconceived ideas about his difficulties as the others. And I can assure you I will not be found huddled under my desk."

"Thank you. That would be great. How did you talk him out of there anyway? How did you know what was wrong?"

"Anyone could have persuaded him to come out. I was able to do it faster because, by chance, I sounded like his demon."

"But why did you even try? I would have called for paramedics and waited."

"I have seen something like it before," Tieran answered and projected as much reluctance to speak of it as he could.

James obligingly dropped the topic.

* * *

Disclaimers, trivia, credits:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	22. Chapter 22

"What a day," Tieran sighed as he got into Alia's car after work that afternoon.

"Was it really that bad?"

"Yes. I am not sure you would believe what happened today."

"Well, wait to tell me until Cara's around. Then you'll only have to tell it once. I'm sure she'll want all the details. About the computers anyway."

"Most likely."

"At least it's the weekend. That means that you have two whole days in this world where you can't possibly be expected to do anything about this company. In addition to however much time you take in your world."

When they got back to the apartment, Cara was out in the kitchen rattling around.

"What are you doing out there?" Alia asked.

"Dinner."

"What do you mean dinner? You don't cook. That peach affected you more than I thought."

"I didn't cook. I ordered out. It's Friday. You don't have class tomorrow. Tieran has his job. We're getting somewhere. I thought we could celebrate for real this time. I even rented some movies."

"How did you pay for it?" Alia asked as she hung up coats by the door.

"Tieran isn't the only one with a job you know. I went back to work today and I got them to forward me a little of my pay."

"That's great! What did you get?" Alia asked.

"Food or movie? I got Chinese take-out and 'Independence Day' and 'Sabrina,' the old one."

"You have the strangest taste in movies, Cara." Alia shook her head.

"I thought maybe Tieran would like to see them."

"Are either of them fantasies?" Tieran asked.

"With magic and fairies and stuff? Nope, nothing like that. One is science fiction, though," Cara answered as she placed dishes and take-out boxes on the table.

"And the other one is a 45 year-old romantic comedy," Alia clarified.

They dished out the food and settled down in the living room to eat.

"So, Tieran, tell us about this horrendous day you had."

"You had a bad day? See, we needed a celebration. What happened?"

"I met the owner of the company,"

"Caereh?"

"Was she as bad as Amy said?"

"I would say so." Tieran told them all that she had done and said, emphasizing his dislike of the woman, her antics, and the whole situation.

"It would be amusing if I was not her chosen target. She apparently thinks herself irresistible. I never thought the way I spoke could cause me so much trouble."

"How far do you think she will go?" asked Alia.

"I hope not far, but judging by what I have seen, I doubt I will be that lucky."

"Maybe we should point her out to Jareth when we get everything fixed. He seems to be the type that would enjoy revenge and cat and mouse," Alia suggested. "Pass the fried rice, please."

"He is. And he has already started on that. You have not heard of the rest yet. He has discovered he can control the animation himself. He terrorized his animator by making him believe he was in an oubliette, trapping the man in his own mind. But Jareth had not counted on the man being claustrophobic and lygophobic."

"Lygophobic?" Alia was not familiar with the word.

"Afraid of being in a dark place," Tieran explained.

"Is that really a word?" Cara narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, of course it is," Alia snapped. "D'you think he'd just make it up? So what happened?" she asked Tieran.

"The poor man was cowering under his desk. I had to talk him out of it. Then they sent him home." Tieran shrugged. "To prevent this happening again, I am now Jareth's animator and keeper."

Tieran sighed. "And, in addition to animating Jareth, James recommended that I go down to try for the voice of Jareth. More problems caused by my accent."

"Did you go?" Alia asked.

"No, not yet."

"Will you?"

"I have not decided yet."

"You said Jareth could control the animation himself?" Cara asked, returning to the comment that had interested her.

"Yes, I gather from the comments he dropped that he toyed with the animator first by changing things and criticizing the man's accuracy."

"Could be useful. He could help us take down the computer from the inside."

"Have him sabotage it you mean? Act like a virus?" Alia asked.

"Or provide the passwords and weaknesses for one. I'll have to talk to him and see what exactly he can do in there. Can you figure out a way for me to talk directly to him?" Cara asked Tieran.

"Would she be able to use his crystal?" Alia suggested.

"Perhaps, depending on her ability. If not I think I should be able to find some way. Did you want to try now?" he asked Cara.

"No, we're celebrating now. Tomorrow will be soon enough."

"So that was your day, huh? No wonder you said it was a bad day." Alia sympathized.

"I have even more news."

"Good or bad?" Alia asked.

"I am not sure. Late this afternoon, Amy mentioned that there will be a company party at the end of the month."

"For Halloween?" Cara suggested.

Tieran nodded, "A themed costume party – 'Labyrinth,' of course. She also said that they were planning to debut the first completed episode at the party."

"That soon? They just started on Jareth and you said they hadn't even cast his voice yet. Aren't they awfully far behind for that?"

"They do seem to be overly optimistic, but then, we do not know much about the whole process. Perhaps it will just be a rough version."

"I wonder if there will still be a company then?"

"Possibly. It is not really very far away."

"Are you going to go?" Alia asked.

Tieran sighed again. "Unfortunately, I seem to be becoming an integral part of the company, so I imagine it will be expected of me."

"What are you going to do for a costume?"

"Maybe if I do decide to do Jareth's voice I could go as him. I would think he would be a popular choice though, so perhaps not after all."

"Now is that all?" Cara asked.

"Yes. That was more than enough."

"Good, now we can watch the movies. 'Independence Day' first," Cara dictated.

.….

The meeting to determine the plan of action convened midmorning the next day. The weather held unseasonably warm and sunny, so the three of them decided to go to a nearby park to discuss it.

When they arrived they discovered that about half of the local population had had the same idea. Frisbee players, dogs, sunbathers taking advantage of the last warm days of autumn, and children running and screaming filled the park.

"I don't see any bare grass except for where those frisbee players are," Cara sighed when they got out of the car. "Well, it was a nice idea. Now what? Back to the apartment?"

"I guess so. All the parks will be like this." Alia said.

"I know where we could go," Tieran said.

Alia and Cara turned to look at him. "Where?" Alia asked.

"Cara said she wanted to see the Underground. We could go to my home. The weather is just as nice there as it is here today."

"Cool!" Cara exclaimed. "Let's go."

"Let's go back to the apartment first," Alia suggested. "We might attract some attention leaving from here."

They piled back into the car and drove back to the apartment.

"Okay, how do we do this?" Cara asked with childlike enthusiasm from the living room of the apartment.

"It's easy. Just close your eyes and hold out your hands. Tieran has to be touching you to transport you," Alia explained.

"Okay," Cara agreed, then got cold feet. "You go first."

"No problem." Alia held her hands out to Tieran and they transferred to the colonnade by the garden. Tieran left to retrieve Cara and Alia wandered down to the garden. It was so peaceful here after the frenzied activity of the park. She had missed it without even realizing it. It felt so tranquil and secure, as though it had always been this way and always would be, as if nothing from her world could change it.

"That is so cool!" Cara squealed when she arrived, belying Alia's thoughts. "Whoa! Look at that!" Cara admired the view across the lake just as Alia had done herself the first time she arrived.

"Shall we sit by the lake?" Tieran suggested.

"Definitely," Cara agreed and ran down the steps and along the garden path to try to find her way down to the lakeshore, leaving Alia and Tieran to follow at a more sedate pace.

"You are quiet suddenly. Is there something wrong again?" Tieran asked as they crunched along the gravel paths.

"No, not really. Just thinking. When you left to get Cara, I noticed how peaceful it was here, how it felt so secure. I realized I missed that after going back to my world for only a few days. Then Cara came and reminded me that even here was not safe from my world."

"Perhaps I should stop bringing you here. It seems to depress you."

"No." Alia shook her head. "My world compared to this depresses me. Losing this depresses me. And if we don't stop them that company will get even here won't it?" Alia paused, realizing the implications of what she had just said. "Listen to me talking as if this was my home, assuming I'll just be popping back and forth all the time, even after all this is over. I'm sorry. For all I know, you may never want to see me or my world again once all this is done."

"Surely you do not believe that? You will always be welcome here. As long as you want to come, I will bring you here. I enjoy having you here."

"Thank you. That's kind of you." They could hear Cara in the distance exclaiming over some new find, presumably the lake. "Do you enjoy showing it off to other people?"

"Showing what?"

"All of this, the house, the lake, the valley. Do you enjoy showing it to rude and noisy earthlings like Cara and me, for example?"

Tieran smiled. "I enjoy that you enjoy it. I have never really had many visitors before."

"Has it always looked like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, did you change the house and grounds to suit you or has it been handed down like this through the generations of your family? Arten'barad said she knew your family from a long time ago, so I know it has been here a long time."

"A little of both. Things gradually change over the years."

"This is sooo much better than the park," Cara said to them as they approached her sitting under a tree on the lakeshore. "What took you so long?"

"We walked," Alia retorted. "Not everyone runs madly all over the place like you do. So, with all this free time you had waiting for us to finally show up, did you come up with a plan?"

"Nope." Cara grinned.

"I figured as much. Okay, what do we know?" Alia asked as she sat on the grass.

"We know there are a lot of computers to take out, too many to steal. We know they have a main server and, presumably, backup copies of all the software. We'll need to know how many of those and where they are. Who would know that?" Cara asked.

"I assume Caereh would know. It is her company, after all," Tieran pointed out.

"So we need to get that information from her. I know you dislike her, Tieran, but I think you will have to do that. Do you think you could get her to talk about it or could you read her mind or something?" Alia asked.

"I do not know which would be worse, what I would have to do to get her to tell me or invading her mind and what I might find there."

"Ugh, I hadn't thought of that," Alia said.

"I don't think she's likely to tell anything voluntarily, though, no matter what you do to or for her," Cara observed.

"What about hypnotizing her?" Alia suggested.

"Who would hypnotize her? I do not know how. Do either of you?" Tieran asked

Alia and Cara both shook their heads. "Is there a magic spell for it?" Alia asked meekly.

"Not that I know. Perhaps Jareth has one. I will ask him." Tieran produced Jareth's crystal again. This time it was alive.

_"Jareth, do you have a way to make someone tell you information she does not want you to know?"_

_"Having trouble with your females, Tieran?"_

Tieran glanced to Alia to see if she had overheard Jareth's remark. She plucked at the grass and showed no sign of it. Tieran tried to ignore the jibe and responded, _"I need to obtain the location of the backup software from the owner of the company. She is not my type. She might be yours, however, if you are interested. I am going to project you through your crystal so that Alia and Cara can hear you, so behave yourself,"_ Tieran told him as he set the crystal on the grass between the three of them.

"I think I know a way to get the information from her," Jareth said.

"Is that him?" Cara asked. "He sounds just like David Bowie."

"I do not sound like that."

"Yes, we know," Tieran sighed. "Nor do you sound like me when I imitate you, despite everyone commenting on the likeness."

"They think you sound like the movie character, played by David Bowie. There is a difference," Jareth pointed out.

Tieran refrained from pointing out in turn that Alia, who had heard the real Jareth speak more than the movie character, still thought so, only asking, "This method of yours, is it ethical?"

"How could it be, if she doesn't want to give you the information?"

"He has a point there, Tieran," Alia admitted. "Aside from cajoling it out of her somehow, I don't think our ideas were ethical, either."

Tieran sighed, "All right, what is it?"

"You use a hallucination to make her believe she needs to tell you or check the location, either in real life or within the hallucination. Working within the hallucination complicates the hallucination, but real life weakens the suggestion and you will need to follow her."

"I do not create hallucinations," Tieran said. "I never explored that area. If it is complicated, a beginner's version will not work. Do you think you could do it from within the computer?"

"I performed the simple one on that animator. The only way to find out would be to try it."

"You would need to be in her computer, wouldn't you? To get close to her?" Cara asked. "Have you been able to move around within the system on your own? Or do you have to be sent as a file by the server?"

"I haven't been able to move on my own. I don't know where to find her in any case."

"Tieran, did they give you everyone's e-mail address when they set you up on the computer?"

"Yes, I believe they showed me an address book. If not, I am sure Amy or Thomas could help me with it. They have their own plans for Caereh, as well, that they would like to implement."

"Sarah! The woman who owns this company is named Sarah?"

"Not quite," Alia explained. "Tieran was told that she spells her name C-A-E-R-E-H."

Jareth groaned. "Could this situation possibly get any worse?"

"She seems to have quite a liking for English accents and ours is close enough that they cannot tell the difference. She is also a fan of the movie. She said the reason she formed the company was to have the characters in it do what she wants. And she cultivates a likeness to the actress who played Sarah in the movie," Tieran enumerated cheerily.

"I see it does."

"Back to the computer problem, guys," Cara interrupted. "Tieran, if you download Jareth and send him to Caereh, he could get the information from her. Hmm, but then how does he get back?"

"I simply tell her to send me back within the hallucination."

"Of course. All right that takes care of the backups, we hope. Now what about the passwords for the virus? Since you can't get around on your own you can't go looking for them. It's really hard to spread a virus without them, though."

"Could he do the same with a computer support person? Get them to send the file to Tieran or something?" Alia suggested.

"Yeah, but we'd still have to hope no one changes their password in the meantime."

"Why bother with passwords and a virus at all?" Jareth asked

"Because that's the only way we have to kill all the computers."

"What about netgoblins?"

"What are netgoblins?" Alia asked.

"They're supposed to be goblins that go around messing with people's computers," Cara explained. "I read about them on this list on the web that is devoted to the movie. I found it the other night when I went surfing. I thought they were just something the list members made up. You mean you actually do have creatures called netgoblins?" Cara asked Jareth.

"At this point, they're probably the only creatures I do have."

"Can they be instructed or do they work on their own whim?"

"They usually work on their own whim, but I have sent them with specific instructions after particular list members on occasion."

"How do we contact them?" Cara continued interrogating the Goblin King.

"I call them with magic."

"You'll have to see if that still works from inside the computer. After we find out where the back ups – and the paper copies, if there are any, we can't forget about them – are located, you can test the netgoblins," Cara commanded. "We can do that Monday."

"Shall I have them do anything in particular?"

"Oh, I don't know," Cara mused. "Don't give us away. Don't interfere with Tieran. You could set them to annoy Caereh for a while. Keep her out of Tieran's hair."

"Just don't have them mess her computer up so much that she has nothing to do but go hunt Tieran," Alia warned.

"Assuming we find out their location, what will we do with the backups?" Tieran asked.

"You'll have to steal them," Cara said. "We can't leave them with the company. That also means we need to find out about security."

"When do we steal them? How?" Alia asked.

"That depends on where they are. Ideally, we get them at the same time the netgoblins strike so they can't do anything about either one."

"So we have to wait until Monday for more information before we can do anything else," Alia observed.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	23. Chapter 23

The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully at Tieran's home in the Underground.

On Monday, Tieran went to work to perform his espionage. First he went to the sound recording department and inquired whether they had found a voice for Jareth yet. When they said they had not, he explained that several people had recommended he stop by. Tieran read a few lines and they declared him a perfect match for the character. They gave him a schedule to come by to record episodes and said they would arrange something with the human resources and payroll departments about the extra work and salary. Tieran was grateful to have that hassle taken out of his hands –the unending paperwork was something he would definitely not miss about this world.

That task taken care of he returned to his office to find the e-mail address for Caereh so he could send Jareth off to her. As a cover he sent her a message informing her of his new position in her company, jack-of-all-trades. "Next I will be working in the cafeteria," he thought wryly as he sent it on its way. "Now, what else can I do while Jareth is off on his little errand?"

He halfheartedly attempted a little animation to pass the time until Jareth returned, but soon tired of it. He gave up all pretense of work and sat staring out the window. He absentmindedly produced Jareth's crystal and a few mates for it and spun them as he gazed out the window.

Amy came to his office door, which he had left open, and left again unnoticed. She fetched Thomas to show him what Tieran was doing.

"Thomas, c'mere, you've got to see this."

"What?"

"Just come here." Amy quickly walked back down the hall to Tieran's office where he sat oblivious to his audience. "See," she said in a whisper from across the hall. "Look at what he's doing. He sounds like him and spins crystals like him. He just looks different. He might as well be GK in disguise."

The whispering out in the hall finally caught Tieran's attention. He turned to look at his door and the spinning crystals stalled. Amy and Thomas standing in his doorway had attracted other people and now he had a small crowd watching him.

"How do you do that?" Amy was the first to break the silence and enter his office.

"Practice." He began spinning the three crystals again. "How long have you been watching?"

"Not long – a few minutes," Amy answered.

"Can you show us how to do it?" asked Thomas.

Tieran began explaining it to them when the computer chimed discreetly. _"I have returned,"_ Jareth announced.

_"Wait a moment. I have company."_ "Here, take these with you and practice," he told Thomas as he handed him two of the crystals, carefully retaining the one Jareth had given him. "I need to get back to work."

He waited until the last member of the audience had dispersed, then closed his door. He turned on the monitor and told Jareth, _"They have all gone. Did you find anything?"_

_"Piece of cake, to coin a phrase. I manipulated her into revealing that she keeps the copies of the software in her office. The computer support personnel must come to her to get them."_

_"What about the netgoblins?"_

_"They are playing with her computer as we speak."_ The animation of Jareth smiled in a self-satisfied manner. _"I told them to make a few changes to her personal settings as soon as I was transferred from the computer."_

Someone knocked on Tieran's door.

_"Behave yourself,"_ Tieran admonished Jareth as he answered the knock on door, "Come in."

"I just read your e-mail and came straight down to congratulate you.

Tieran stood up as Caereh entered his office and closed the door behind her. "Thank you. It is too kind of you to take such a personal interest in one of your employees. Would you like to sit down this time?" Tieran thought he would try offering her a chair again, for all the good he expected it to do him. _"Really too kind. Jareth, you are not behind this are you?"_

_"Why would I want to be exposed to this woman again? You would not believe what I found on this woman's computer. And you tell me to behave myself."_

_"I never want to know."_

Caereh ignored the invitation again and approached Tieran. "This is just too wonderful. Now I know why you sound familiar. You sound just like Him."

_"Was that capitalized?"_ Tieran asked Jareth.

"Him?" Tieran asked to make conversation.

_"I'm afraid it was,"_ Jareth replied with distaste.

"Jareth, of course. Who do you think inspired me to create this company? Hoggle?" Caereh replied as she continued around behind Tieran's chair.

_"Come, come, Jareth. I am sure you could always use another worshipper. It sounds as though I am only a substitute for the real thing. Shall I let her in on our little game?"_

"Definitely not!" Jareth was horrified.

"I see. You wanted to write your own adventure stories about him?"

"Mmm. All kinds of stories."

Tieran found it hard to keep from laughing. _"Are you sure, Jareth? Just think of the stories she could write you into."_

"But now I have the perfect substitute." She leaned on the back of the chair.

_"Now who's going to be written into stories?"_ Jareth taunted back.

"And who might that be?" Tieran asked.

"I think you know," she said in a low voice next to his ear and pretended to adjust his collar, making his skin crawl. "I also came to tell you that I will see personally that you will be suitably reimbursed for your extra work for me."

"That will not be necessary. I do not foresee doing any extra work... for you."

"You never know," she persisted. "Has anyone mentioned the upcoming masquerade to you?"

"One of the modelers mentioned it Friday afternoon, yes. You plan to debut the first episode then? Will it be finished in time?"

"Of course." Caereh decided she preferred watching Tieran's face and walked back around his chair to lean on his desk. She picked up the crystal Tieran had left sitting out. He restrained himself from seizing it back from her. "Now that we have someone to take care of the Goblin King, everything will go exactly as I planned. Everyone is to come in costume suitable for the ballroom hallucination scene, but I have issued orders that no one is to come as one of the main characters. But you must come as Jareth. "

"Then I should not dress as Jareth. It would not be fair to the others if I ignore your rule."

"What's your basis for comparison?" Caereh smiled, pleased at her reference. "Rules are made to be broken and who better to break them than the one who makes them? You will come as the Goblin King," she mandated. "If you like I can help you with your costume."

"That will not be necessary. May we bring guests?"

"The others are. Do you think you'll need to bring someone else?"

"Of course I will. Why would I not?"

Caereh abruptly handed the crystal back to Tieran. "You'll see," she answered and turned to the door. She stopped with her hand on the handle. "Keep running. Soon you'll come to a dead end and have nowhere to go. Then we'll see who you need."

"Ah, but Caereh, you forget who controlled the Labyrinth," Tieran

said as she opened the door and walked through.

_"I must admit, you handled that better than I thought you would. You might have a backbone and teeth after all."_

"I am rather beginning to enjoy that," Tieran admitted

"Enjoy what?"

Tieran turned away from the computer screen where he had been talking to Jareth and saw Amy and Thomas standing in the doorway.

"Baiting Caereh," he answered truthfully.

"That's a dangerous hobby. She didn't look happy when she left again."

Tieran shrugged. "Not as dangerous as it could be. She needs me for her series. I do not need her job."

_"But you do need to stay employed here for a while longer,"_ Jareth reminded him.

_"And what do you suggest? That I allow myself to be led meekly along? I refuse to go anywhere with that creature."_

"Have you two decided what you will wear to the masquerade?" Tieran asked while examining the play of light on the crystal he still held.

"We thought maybe the clock or some other pieces of furniture, but probably it'll just be two more dancers," Amy answered dispiritedly. "What about you?"

"It has been dictated to me from on high that I am to go as Jareth, so Jareth I shall be. People will be expecting more than just two more dancers from you two. You must not let them down. Be creative."

"Yeah, right. We do that all day," Thomas groused. "Now everyone expects us to do it in our free time, as well."

"But it will be for yourselves this time, not for Caereh." Tieran slowly smiled worthy of Jareth. "Perhaps you could be creative at her expense?"

"There's some inspiration," Thomas said with growing excitement.

Tieran had second thoughts. "No, never mind. I do not want you to endanger your jobs."

"Do we look like we worry about that?" Amy asked him. "You're not the only one around here who doesn't need Caereh's jobs at the expense of character and dignity. Come on, Thomas. Let's go do some brainstorming." Amy left Tieran's office, pulling Thomas after her.

.….

That afternoon, Tieran was lost in thought when Alia found him sitting in the entrance hall of the building.

"You were a million miles away. I had to call you five times. What were you thinking about?

"I received an official invitation to the masquerade this morning as a result of the e-mail I sent with Jareth."

"You drew more attention to yourself? Why?"

"I did not really have a choice now, did I? I had to send something with Jareth for Caereh to open. I had stopped by the recording studios already, to see what they thought of the resemblance. They gave me the part, so I wrote to Caereh to tell her. She would have found out more than soon enough anyway."

"But doesn't that encourage her?" Alia asked sitting down next to Tieran on the planter.

"Yes, it did. She came down to my office immediately to 'congratulate' me. Also to assure me that she would personally supervise my compensation for my extra work. Then she told me I must come to the party dressed as Jareth. I asked if I could bring a guest. She asked if I thought I would need to. I asked her why I would not."

"I think you're making yourself an enemy."

"Yes, and it brings me to my current problem. Now I must bring someone to the masque. Who? You or Cara?"

"Or Irielen, you could take her," Alia suggested while trying to hide her excitement at the thought of being invited to the costume ball.

Tieran shook his head. "I do not think she would want to come here, nor do I think she would want to attend a ball with me. How do I choose?"

"Well, Cara would certainly enjoy the party." Alia tried to sound casual.

"Yes, and she has been wanting to celebrate for some time now, but quite honestly I..." Tieran trailed off uncertainly.

Alia waited for him to finish his sentence, then prompted, "You what?"

"I would rather have you there. How do I invite you without offending her?" A thought occurred to Tieran. "You do want to go? I am not worrying over nothing, am I?"

"Yes, I'd love to go with you, but I do see your point. We've kind of become the Three Musketeers, with Cara and I as the junior partners, despite the fact that you and I are supposed to be the ones doing this."

"I do not see how it could be any other way, following the plan we have. The person playing my part would have to run most of the risks and do most of the work. I was just the best choice for the position."

"Yes, well, I don't feel like I'm doing much. I'll have to take a more active part in the rest of the plan. Come on. We should get home and talk over your new information with Cara. Who knows? Maybe we'll have this all taken care of before then and there won't be a party."

.….

"So what did you find out?" Cara asked once they had all settled into their favorite places in the living room of the apartment: Tieran sat in one corner of the couch, Cara sat in a chair opposite and at right angles to him, Alia sat between them on the other end of the couch and Jareth's crystal rested on the low table in front of them.

Tieran ticked things off on his fingers as he listed them. "One: Jareth found the backups. They are all in her office. Two: By some creative questioning, I found that the electronic security is all on one system. Either it is all on or it is all off. Three: I sound enough like Jareth, or David Bowie," he added before Jareth could make any comment, "to be hired to perform his voice for the series. Four: Caereh is still interested enough in me to personally invite me to this masquerade. And I have to bring someone with me."

"What, to the party?" Cara asked.

"He snubbed her by saying he would need someone else, not her, at the party. I couldn't have done it more smoothly myself," Jareth explained through the crystal on the table. "Now he has to bring someone with him or she'll never leave him alone."

"So who are you taking?" Cara asked watching Tieran closely.

"I do not know."

Cara shrugged. "Well, if we're quick, there probably won't be a party anyway. What are we going to do?"

"It is not likely that I would be able to both steal the backups and install your virus during the day. I will have to do it after everyone is gone."

"But then there's the alarm system," Alia pointed out. "This keeps getting more complicated."

"Maybe not," Cara said in a tone of voice that said she was working on a plan. "Where did you say this ball was going to be?"

"I believe it will be held at the company in the large entrance hall."

"Bingo!" Cara smiled as a fully formed plan revealed itself to her. "Here's what we're going to do..."

.….

Once Cara outlined the plan, Jareth left to keep an eye on his netgoblins. They had been hanging about the computers of Virtual Pencil ever since he had called them, looking for more mischief to get into. Thus far Jareth had been able to control them out of habit and intimidation, but they would require almost constant supervision until they grew bored and tired of waiting and wandered off again.

"So, if we're going to do this at the costume party, who's going?" Alia asked after the Goblin King left.

"You are," Cara said. "You're the one who's supposed to be fixing things. I've already done my part coming up with the plan. Besides, I've seen the dresses they wear in that scene and I wouldn't be caught dead in one."

Alia suspected an ulterior motive in Cara's generosity, but could not quite put her finger on it. Cara's taste didn't usually run to dresses like that, but Alia would have expected Cara to adapt them to her liking, not reject them altogether. Her other reason was plausible, but again not in Cara's normal character. Ordinarily, Cara would have been trying to get into the party invitation, not out of it. Alia shrugged mentally and chalked it up to another effect of the peach. Meanwhile, Tieran had made a comment that she had missed.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, I was thinking. What did you say?"

"I said, 'We need to go find our costumes.' When would you like to do that?"

"I don't even know where to go to get a costume like that."

"Irielen showed me trunks full of them when we looked for my clothing for here."

"Even something like Jareth's outfit?"

"If we do not find anything Irielen has plenty of time to work something out."

"Can we go now? Are you sure you don't want to come, Cara?" Alia asked as she stood up.

"Nah, I've got the virus to work out, in case the netgoblins don't work. You go without me."

Tieran and Alia transferred to his Underground home and searched for Irielen. They soon found her supervising the rehanging of a tapestry and Tieran explained what they needed.

"What we are looking for is clothing like that worn in the ballroom hallucination scene of that movie about the Labyrinth. You remember that one I showed you about Jareth some time ago?"

Irielen nodded. "Yes, I remember and I believe I've seen clothing that might work, stored in with the rest of the old things. I'll show you," she said and obligingly took them to the storage room where the old clothing had been packed away.

"I think those trunks and wardrobes along that wall there hold the style of clothing you're looking for," she said, pointing.

Alia walked to a trunk and opened it. Bundles of fabric carefully swathed in layers of tissue filled it to the top. "Are they all full like this? Where did they all come from?" she asked, amazed.

"They've been stored away by various family members over the years. Who knows why? I've never asked Tieran what to do with them, so here they are."

"I, for one, am grateful for your lapse in efficiency. I do not have the first idea about creating clothing," Tieran said as he opened another trunk.

"I think I've got men's clothing over here," Alia said, holding up a coat of white satin. "We should find your costume first, since you absolutely have to go."

"We have to start somewhere," Tieran said as he joined Alia and Irielen sorting through the trunk.

Alia handed the white coat to Irielen who refolded and wrapped it. Alia pulled out the next large, heavy bundle. Pulling away the layers of tissue protecting it, she exposed a large coat of fuchsia satin.

"Here you go, Tieran. Look no further. This is the coat," she said holding it up. The coat obviously belonged to to one of Tieran's larger ancestors. "Here, try it on. See how it looks," she teased, grinning.

Tieran looked at her doubtfully.

"No?" Alia responded. "All right, what did you find?" she asked as she helped Irielen fold the monster coat again.

"The other end of the spectrum," Tieran sighed, holding up a lavender coat of the right style, but much too small for him.

"How much do you think you'll be able to change? The size? The color?"

"The color, perhaps," Tieran answered. "The size would be beyond me, I think."

"Well, how did you find all of that clothing for me?"

"I found them or ordered them," Irielen said. "You could just find a tailor and have it made."

"And add to all of this clothing stored away here? We will look first and if we do not find anything, then we will have something made."

"Besides," added Alia, "this is much more fun. It's like playing dress-up and make-believe when we were kids. Well, when I was a kid. I don't know what you guys played when you were children. You were children once, weren't you?"

"I was and I cannot say I ever played dress-up, but there was make-believe. I pretended just like the rest of the children." Tieran smiled at the memory, then it faded a little sadly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just a memory from a long time ago."

"What about you Irielen? Did you ever play dress-up, dreaming you were a princess in a fairy tale? Or since you live in a fairy-tale world, what would you pretend to be?"

"We dream of princesses here, too. And explorers and adventurers. And different lands to dream of living in," Irielen explained as she folded a scarlet coat.

They continued looking through the old clothing, talking about the styles, who might have worn what. Tieran and Irielen told of some of the other regions of the Underground to Alia, both the outrageous tales they remembered from their childhood and the truths they learned as they grew older.

They were on the fourth or fifth trunk of men's attire when they finally found a coat that might work for Tieran. It was the right style and size, with embroidery spilling over the shoulders and down the front and back. But instead of the iridescent, metallic blue fabric of the coat in the movie, this coat was a dark green satin.

"I don't think we'll find anything closer. I'd leave the fabric as it is. Do you think you can get the color closer?" Alia asked Tieran.

"I believe I can do both," Irielen said, taking the coat off Tieran, who had tried it on for fit. She draped it over a nearby trunk covered with the tissue it had been wrapped in and passed her hands over it. Where her hands had passed the forest green satin changed to an iridescent, midnight blue shot through with metallic threads. "Close enough?" she asked when she had finished.

"I don't think I'd know the difference without at least a picture of the other one in front of me. It doesn't have the gemstones set into the embroidery, but we'll be adding those anyway. That should do it for you, Tieran. The rest of the costume can be almost anything. My turn now," Alia said surveying the trunks and wardrobes full of ladies' dresses that they had skipped before.

"No, it is getting late. We have plenty of time to do that tomorrow," Tieran decided.

Irielen joined them again the next evening to look for a dress for Alia. Since there were so many choices and they had nothing specific to look for, Irielen queried Alia about her preferences.

"I don't really know. I don't usually wear colors like the ones in the ballroom scene. They seemed to be mostly pastels and a few earth tones. I like dark bright colors better. I'd like it better if we could find a dress of the right style without ruffles, too. I don't like ruffles."

"Right. No pastels, no ruffles. That gives us a starting place. Although we can always change the color again, if we have to."

"Remember it also needs to have embroidery. We will need somewhere to incorporate the stones," Tieran pointed out.

They started looking through the dresses. They set aside a few candidates for later consideration and kept looking. They had four or five to choose from and were running out of trunks and wardrobes when Alia found one that she loved.

"Look at this one. It has the embroidery and the skirt is right. It doesn't have the ruffles either, but it also doesn't have the puffed sleeves. I didn't really like the puffed sleeves anyway, but aren't they necessary for that style?"

"It looks as though it should fit you, if you really like it." Irielen encouraged her. "If I remember correctly the men wore different styles and Jareth's costume was unique."

"I like it better than the other ones we've found so far, even if it is the wrong color. There's no way I'm going to wear white. That would be like copying Sarah. She was the only one wearing white. I love the velvet, though. We could just change the color. But what color?"

"What if we made it the same blue as Tieran's coat?" Irielen suggested. "That would look wonderful in velvet and would show the silver and gold embroidery nicely, perhaps better than the white."

"I like that color," Alia agreed.

"Then blue it is."

Once Irielen had changed the color of the velvet gown, she turned on Tieran. "Now, you go find something else to do."

"Why?"

"Because she has to try it on."

"Oh. Yes. Of course. But why not take her to her room where you will have space to turn around to try it on? I will try to put these away here, then come see how it works."

"That is a wonderful idea. I may keep you after all. Make sure you wrap them properly," Irielen directed as she threaded her way through the trunks and litter of tissue to the door.

When Tieran finished putting things away and checked on them, Alia still wore the dress, but Irielen was gone.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Alia asked excitedly. "Look at the embroidery." It ran around the neckline of the dress, which exposed her shoulders and a short way down the tight sleeves, as well as around the waist where the full skirt joined the bodice, spilling down the skirt in several streams.

Tieran smiled at her excitement and said, "Yes, you look wonderful."

"It weighs a ton. Irielen found me the skirts to go under it. Did you find the rest of your costume?"

"I do not think that will be a problem."

"We'll have to practice the makeup between now and the party. And find you a wig. Are we expected to wear masks? If we are we'll have to find them, too."

"Makeup? Wig?"

"If you are going as Jareth, they will expect you to wear the makeup, as well. And you'd have to get a wig for the hair. Yours is nowhere near long enough."

"I am not wearing a wig," Tieran declared adamantly.

"All right. No wig. You'd look silly in one anyway. But if you're not doing the wig you'll have to wear the makeup."

"What about the masks? You mentioned masks. If I wear one of them there would be no point in the makeup."

"What if you want to take it off? Masks can be hard to see out of. You should wear it just in case."

Tieran sighed loudly and resigned himself to makeup.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	24. Chapter 24

You'll need this note later: # signifies song lyrics being sung in the background.

* * *

"Hold still," Cara scolded.

"Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?" Tieran asked plaintively.

"Yes. Without makeup you aren't Jareth."

"But what about the mask?"

"I told you they're hard to see out of," Alia reminded Tieran. "And you'd have to hold it and keep track of it. Besides, Jareth didn't wear one for most of that scene, anyway."

"Now quit arguing and trying to distract me, so I can finish. Does that look right?" Cara asked Alia.

"Looks about right to me," Alia answered.

"Good."

"Ow!"

"They weren't the right shape – ask Jareth," Cara told Tieran. "Just be thankful we didn't pluck them individually."

"What am I going to do with only half of my eyebrows?" Tieran complained as he surveyed the results in a hand mirror.

"They'll grow back. Trust me," Cara reassured him. "They always do. We'll just pencil them in if you have to go out in public between now and tomorrow night. Now do you think you can manage the eyeliner, or would you like Alia or me to help you with it."

"I can do it myself, thank you. I am not letting either one of you near me again, if I can help it."

.….

"I'm sorry, Tieran, but it's just so funny," Alia gasped through her laughter at the results of his determined independence and self-preservation. "I think you'd better let Cara do it. She's had a lot of experience with makeup. She dresses up for costume parties all the time. She did mine for me." She grabbed the metallic sleeve of his jacket.

"Come on. There's no more pain involved, just putting on the makeup. Let's go get Cara, then we'll all go back to your place. I think I need Irielen's help with my hair. At least, I hope she can help. Cara and I can't do a thing with it."

.….

As they walked into the party, for the first time Alia could remember, she felt self-assured and comfortable at a party. She knew she was wearing exactly the right thing. She knew she had been invited, that she belonged. And most importantly, from the social standpoint, she came with the most popular man at the party. Everyone recognized him and noticed when he arrived. Was it always like this or was it the costume he was wearing?

A rapacious woman, eyeing Tieran with a covetous smile, sailed straight for them. Sailing was the correct word, for this woman had worn a dress patterned after Sarah's in the movie that billowed out behind her as she moved. She had obviously planned this, knowing that Tieran would be wearing Jareth's costume. But with this woman at least, the attention had nothing to do with the costume. She had set her cap at Tieran and did not bother to be subtle about it.

"Tieran! Darling! Don't you look wonderful. It's as if you had been wearing that all your life. Some of us can wear these costumes and some can't. And who is this you've brought with you?" she asked as she grasped his arm possessively.

Alia clutched her hands tightly together at her waist to restrain herself from crossing her arms. She was sure that everyone heard the thin leather of her gloves protesting at the pressure. Did she think she felt comfortable? Had she been gloating because she was with a popular person? If that meant she had to deal with this... this… creature, she wasn't sure she wanted to be popular. But Tieran was introducing her now. "Pay attention," she thought.

"This is Alia. Alia this is Caereh. She is the one I have told you so much about," he smiled pleasantly

"Oh, so you're Caereh. I've heard so much about you. How clever of you to play on your name and wear Sarah's dress. You must have been planning it for some time."

Caereh simpered as though modestly flattered and claimed, "Oh, no. I just thought of it at the last minute and ordered it made. They barely had it finished in time."

_"Mm-hmm.__ And I'm a goblin. I'll bet when she found out that you would provide the voice for Jareth, she hatched this costume plan. And I'm sure she was dressing as Sarah already."_

Alia dragged herself back to what Caereh was saying. "...terribly original of you not to come as a character from the movie. Wherever did you find that dress?"

"This old thing? It's been in the family for ages. They never threw anything away. I believe a grandmother wore it to a coronation." Alia was finding reserves of cattiness she did not even know she had. "I believe I will find myself a drink, if you will excuse me?" Alia turned to go before Caereh could reply. "Did you want anything Tieran?"

"I will come with you. I am sure we will see you later, Caereh." Tieran disengaged his arm from Caereh's grasp and followed after Alia, leaving Caereh wondering how she had lost control of the skirmish.

"Where did that come from?" Tieran asked, amazed.

"It was the truth wasn't it? Irielen said it had been in the family. Maybe it wasn't worn to a coronation, but it had to have been worn to something important, otherwise they wouldn't have kept it."

"No, not the comment, the attitude."

"Oh, that. Honestly, I didn't know I could do that. I had to defend myself though."

"And what if she tries for a second engagement?"

"Oh, I hope not. I don't know how long I can maintain it. Everyone isn't like that, I hope?"

"No, no. Thankfully Caereh is one-of-a kind."

They mingled for a while, talking to the various people Tieran worked with and knew. Most seemed to genuinely like him and only a few, such as the trio of Jennifer, Michelle and John, seemed to have ulterior motives or personal agendas.

Tieran introduced her to Thomas and Amy. They were the only people not dressed in late eighteenth or early nineteenth century garb. Instead Thomas had come as the clock that struck twelve as Sarah ran from the ball and Amy as the parrot puppet, complete with her own large yellow box. Alia enjoyed talking to them and was glad that Tieran had been introduced to them in the beginning.

Thankfully, Caereh did not approach them again, but Alia could feel her watching them the whole time. They had been at the party for about an hour and a half and made the rounds, when they started thinking about their own ulterior motive.

_"How are we going to lose Caereh? She's been watching us all night,"_ Alia asked.

_"I know. I think I have a plan. Head for the west wing."_

_"But, the computer and her office are in the east wing."_

_"I know. This is a diversion. If she is going to follow us and look for us when we leave, we do not want her wandering around where we are and stumbling on us. Once we are safely out of sight, I can transport us to the east wing, leaving her behind to wander the west one."_

_"Sounds like a plan,"_ Alia agreed.

_"It is more believable that we would go to the west wing in any case. That is where my office is located. Where else would I be going?"_

They gradually worked their way toward the west wing, occasionally contriving to observe Caereh trying to follow them casually. They ducked down a corridor and around a corner. They ran around a second corner and transported before Caereh could catch up and find them. Conveniently, they arrived in the room with the computer system, in the east wing.

Alia immediately started removing gems from the waist of the bodice of her dress and arranging them in the same pattern on the desk nearby. Meanwhile, Tieran was transforming computer components into similar gems and forming his own copy of the pattern. When he had cleared the room, he took the gems Alia had laid down and turned them into replacement components. Alia took gems from the pattern he had laid out and held them to the velvet. Where she pressed them they stayed.

_"You're certain these things won't fall off? I don't want to lose anything. We might not be able to get the Labyrinth back."_

_"They will stay. Are you ready for the disks?"_

_"Just a minute,"_ Alia answered as she affixed the last few jewels. _"Ready."_ She started pulling off the more numerous stones arranged around her neckline.

Tieran opened the storage cabinet for the animation disks and began copying her pattern again. They had worked their way around to the back of her neckline and waist and were starting on the skirt before he ran out of disks. He started helping her replace the gems.

_"Is that the last one?"_ They both looked around and could find no more stones.

_"What do you think? Do they look different? Will anyone notice?"_ Alia asked turning around.

_"I doubt it. The pattern looks identical to me. We should go to Caereh's office now."_ Neither one had seen the small gem that had fallen off the desk, rolled under it and into a vent in the corner.

Tieran went directly to the hidden safe and opened it with the help of the combination Jareth had obtained from Caereh. In it were the backup copies of the software and the written code for it.

This time Alia started to remove stones from Tieran's coat and handed them directly to Tieran, who in turn handed her the safe's contents in lapidary form to replace on the back and shoulders of his coat. Once the genuine backups and code had been replaced with the imitations, they were ready to implement the second phase of their plan.

Alia stepped to Caereh's terminal and sent the code Cara had given her to the ersatz server they had just set up. It would trigger the virus Cara had written and installed, and would also turn on a prearranged signal to attract the netgoblins. If luck was with them there would be nothing left of the software by morning.

Once Alia finished typing and logged off of Caereh's computer, Tieran grabbed her hand and they popped to a hidden alcove near his office in the halls of the west wing. They listened for a moment and peered around the potted palms and the corners of the alcove. There was no one in sight.

Tieran slipped out between the plants and started down the hall.

_"Wait for me!"_ Alia called out irritably. _"I have to get these blasted skirts out without knocking the plants over. It's all right for you with your tights and tails, but I've got enough bulk here for three people."_

Tieran turned, suppressing a grin, and caught a tall plant as it started to tip. _"Come along. We should return to the party before anyone besides Caereh notices we are gone."_

They were hurrying along the corridors, when Alia started hearing the music coming from the party in the atrium. They were starting to play music from the movie. If she remembered correctly, the current piece was the one heard as Sarah entered the Labyrinth. It seemed particularly appropriate to their situation as they half-ran down the hallway.

Alia was enjoying this coincidence when suddenly Tieran grabbed her out of her thoughts and pushed her firmly against the wall. She was about to ask him what he was doing when he covered her mouth – with his.

_"Stay quiet,"_ he warned her.

_"What do you think you're doing?" _She tried to push him away. Had she totally misjudged him? She thought Tieran was as safe as a brother, a complete gentleman.

_"Caereh.__ She is just around the next corner. Feel her?"_ He opened part of his mind to her so she could feel the world around her.

_"Yes,"_ she answered, amazed. _"But what's with the sudden attack?"_ She was still against the wall, but he had moved from her mouth to her jaw line.

_"Can you think of another reason we would be by ourselves in a hallway at a party? Perhaps an argument, but I could not act that out as convincingly. Could you?"_ "But we could try it if you like," he whispered in her ear.

She flinched, "That tickles." _"I see your point. I don't think I could fight either. And that would just encourage her." _She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him closer to kiss him back.

_"She is watching from the corner."_

Alia could feel Caereh's cold, hard rage and jealousy through Tieran, and some other softer emotion closer.

They played Magic Dance at the party now. _#You remind me of the babe,#_ David Bowie crooned from the recording.

_"How long do we let her watch?"_ Alia asked. Tieran pulled back and looked at her. She could see his emotions in his eyes. Love. Pain. Fear? He was not acting anymore – his emotions were real.

_#I saw my baby crying hard as babe could cry. What could I do?#_

"What's the matter?" she asked him as she cradled his face in her hand, forgetting about Caereh in her concern for him.

Tieran closed his eyes, concentrating on her touch, and trying to his emotions again behind the mask of makeup. This act had broken the precarious walls he had built around his emotions. Now everything had rushed to the surface.

_#My baby's love had gone and left my baby blue. Nobody knew...#_

"Will you be leaving me, too?" he asked in a voice so soft and strangled with emotion she could barely hear him.

* * *

Disclaimers, trivia, credits:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	25. Chapter 25

Alia felt something snap inside at his plea.

"I won't," she answered. "I won't leave you." As she leaned forward to lay her head on his chest, everything rotated and shifted inside her to fall into place, as if she were a three dimensional puzzle solved by the correct placement of a key piece.

_#And baby said, 'Dance, Magic, dance.'#_

He held her tightly, so tightly she was sure she would have the pattern from his coat imprinted on her cheek. She shifted a little to move her arms around his waist and her face to his ruffled shirt inside the coat. Now she could hear and feel his heart racing.

As it finally slowed she thought to ask, _"Is she still there?"_

He felt for Caereh and shook his head. "No, there is no one near. We should go back."

"Not yet. You smeared your makeup." Alia tried unsuccessfully to suppress her giggle.

Tieran frowned and touched his face.

"Do you suppose Jareth has that problem?" Alia asked rhetorically as she felt for the pocket set into the voluminous skirts of the velvet ball gown. She found the small compact and handed it to him. "Here, see for yourself."

"How do we fix it?" he asked, frowning as he looked in the tiny mirror. The eyeshadow was migrating and he was looking more and more like a raccoon. Alia wondered if her makeup needed touching up as well.

"Aside from washing your face and starting over, I haven't got a clue. I've never worried that much about makeup. Put it on once and forget about it is my method. Can't you magic it? That's probably how Jareth does it." Alia giggled as she had a sudden vision of Jareth contorting his face in front of a mirror, applying mascara.

Tieran caught it and said, straight faced, "He would not do that. He does not wear mascara." Tieran burst out laughing and Alia joined him. Soon they were weak with laughter and leaning on each other for support. After several tries they finally managed to calm down. Tieran's makeup looked worse than ever, tears of laughter causing it to run down his face. That nearly started Alia off again, but she managed to control herself.

"I probably look the same way," she thought.

Tieran verified this for her by grinning when he looked at her. "Now we both need help. You are right, he probably does use magic. Let me see if I can manage it."

It proved easier than Tieran thought and soon they both looked presentable again. They entered the throng of the party and almost immediately Caereh pounced on them.

"Where have you two been? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"We were touching up my makeup," Tieran managed to answer with a perfectly straight face. Alia thought she would never have managed it. Heck, she barely kept from giggling just hearing it.

"It smears so easily doesn't it? I can't think how it happens. I hope you have been enjoying yourselves tonight."

That was a double entendre if Alia ever heard one. She chose to ignore the intent. "Yes, we are. What a wonderful idea to play the movie soundtrack. I didn't notice them playing scenes from the movie on that big screen earlier," Alia commented referring to what looked like an oversized television placed on the crosswalk over the elevators. The scene with the fireys had just finished and the scene where Sarah ate the peach was just starting, accompanying the music currently playing.

"They will be playing an animated clip instead of one from the movie later, in addition to the first episode complete with the voice over, music, and sound effects. I suggested that everyone would enjoy seeing their finished product." She turned to Tieran, a predatory look in her eyes. "The ballroom scene will be next. It's only appropriate that we dance for that one," she said pulling Tieran in the direction of the cleared floor where a few other couples were currently dancing.

Tieran shot Alia a worried, pleading glance. Alia smiled back reassuringly and told him, "I think I know exactly what she is going to do. Don't worry, I've got an idea."

As the pair walked to the dance-floor, Alia found a table at its perimeter with an empty seat. "Is this seat taken? No? Good. I've been on my feet all night."

As they whirled around the dance floor, mimicking the scene on the screen behind them, she watched them with a satisfied smile on her face. She had chosen this table just so she could see that screen. When the clock in the movie started striking, she deemed it the appropriate moment and started calmly across the dance floor.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Oh, did I run into you? I am sorry! Pardon me. Excuse me."

Just as Sarah broke away from Jareth and ran in the movie, Alia reached Tieran and Caereh. Caereh/Sarah was attempting to change the course of the events of the movie by kissing Tieran/Jareth. Dancers had stopped when Alia approached and passed through. Now most of the floor was watching. Unfortunately, Tieran also saw her coming and was distracted long enough for Caereh to temporarily succeed. Alia put a sweet smile on her face and tapped Caereh on the shoulder.

"Your chair?" Alia said as she held the chair she had been sitting in out to Caereh and gestured to a nearby window.

Those near enough to see and hear her comment, Amy and Thomas among them, caught the reference immediately and laughed. Caereh's face twisted as she realized the laughter was directed at her.

Alia simply stood there calmly, unsure whether Caereh would take her up on her offer and hurl the chair through the window in a fit of temper, or worse yet hurl it at Alia herself. The music, after a pause, had changed yet again, this time to the battle scene, judging by the clip on the screen. This music was getting too uncanny. Was this more of the prophecy at work?

Caereh, apparently unable to think of a retort or way to salvage her dignity at the expense of Alia's, stormed off into the crowd, the filmy silver and white of her dress again floating behind her. Alia made a mental note not to attempt storming off in huff while wearing gauze and gossamer. It ruined the whole effect.

"Oh, my. I'm afraid I've upset her," Alia said in mock seriousness and innocence as she watched her go.

"Now who will I dance with?" Tieran asked with mock petulance from close behind her.

Alia turned to find him wiping Caereh's lipstick off his face with a handkerchief. "I can't imagine," she said as she took the handkerchief from him to help.

"Are you going to finish the show?" Amy asked from nearby.

Alia looked around and blushed a little. She had forgotten they were still standing in the middle of the dance floor.

"Definitely not," Alia answered as she made her way off the dance floor. "That was my only routine. Aren't you worried about what she's going to do when you go back to work?"

Thomas shrugged. "What's she going to do? Fire the whole company? She made sure we all came, so we were all here to see it and there's no way she can know exactly who laughed at her."

The battle scene ended and the music paused while they prepared the animation for the next track. Thomas explained that the clip would be from some work animating the movie itself that they had started, then shelved. After a few minutes the room darkened and everyone turned to the big screen on the balcony to watch the clip as the music started. Alia, Tieran, Amy, and Thomas watched together from where they stood off to one side at the edge of the room.

The scene looked much as it had in the movie, a room full of stairs at every angle. The Sarah that rushed onto the landing looked more like Caereh than the actress who had played her in the movie, Alia thought, but that could have been her imagination. Then Jareth appeared and went through his routine.

"He looks pretty good. Did you work on him?" Alia whispered to Tieran.

_#How you turn my world you precious thing,#_

"No, but it does look like the imprinting animation," he answered as he watched the clip. "We will have to go find this clip and equipment later to make sure we have –" he glanced at where she had been standing.

_#You starve and near exhaust me.#_

He turned around to look for her and saw her being pulled off in the direction of the stairs to the balcony, her dress dark against a blot of white glowing in the light from the screen.

_"Tieran, she has a knife. I think I may have gone too far with my little stunt."_

_"Try to stay calm,"_ Tieran told her as he followed them.

_"Easy for you to say, you're not the one being dragged up stairs backwards with a knife at your throat,"_ Alia answered as Tieran caught up with them halfway up the stairs.

_#Everything I've done I've done for you.#_

"I told you if you kept running you would hit a dead end. Just look who's going to be dead. One way or another you'll be mine." Caereh hissed at him as she continued up the stairs.

_#I move the stars for no one,#_

Caereh's statement reminded Tieran of Jareth. _"Alia, see if you can reach Jareth.__ Tell him what has happened. I have an idea."_

"If she is such a problem to you, Caereh, why not wish her away to the goblins?" Tieran suggested.

_#You've run so long, you've run so far,#_

"Don't be ridiculous. That doesn't work. Don't you think that I've tried wishing myself away?"

_#Your eyes can be so cruel.#_

"Of course you cannot wish yourself away. You may only wish others away." _"Did you tell him Alia?"_

_"Yes. What are you doing?"_

_"You will see. Trust me."_ "Go ahead, Caereh, wish her away. Perhaps the real Goblin King will come," Tieran encouraged Caereh as she reached the top of the stairs and continued to back away from him toward the viewing screen.

_#Just as I can be so cruel.#_

Caereh considered a moment then said, "I wish the goblins would come and take her away, right now."

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, rattling the glass in the walls of the atrium. The screen just behind Caereh flared and wavered for a moment, then settled and the clip was visible again.

_#Though I do believe in you.#_

"See," Caereh gloated. "She's still here. I told you it wouldn't work. The Goblin King does not come to take people away."

_#Yes, I do.#_

"Yes, I do."

The echo came from directly behind Caereh. She whirled with Alia to face it. The lightning flashed again to show Jareth, dressed in black and wine-red, standing in front of the screen. Someone from the floor below yelled, "Down in front! You're blocking the screen!"

_"Yes!"_ thought Alia, then, _"No!"_

"No!" wailed Caereh. "It never worked for me. Why wouldn't you come for me?"

_"Tieran, I don't want to be a goblin,"_ Alia whimpered.

_"Have faith in me,"_ Tieran replied. _"Nothing will happen to you."_

Alia momentarily wondered how he was going to prevent it, but then she was distracted by Jareth and Caereh. Caereh was trying to bargain with Jareth.

_#Live without the sunlight.#_

"You cannot wish yourself away."

"Then take me instead of her," Caereh tried cajoling the Goblin King.

_#Love without your heartbeat.#_

"That is not the way it is done."

"That's the way it will be done this time," Caereh demanded.

_#I can't live within you.#_

"What's said is said. You wished her away, she is mine."

"No, I won't give her to you. You'll have to take me with you."

Jareth produced a crystal. He played with it for a while, illuminated by the storm and the glow from the screen. "Look what I am offering you," he quoted as expected and proffered the crystal to her, lightning reflections coruscating across its surface. "It will show you your dreams."

"I already know my dreams. Take me instead," Caereh said stubbornly.

_"Jareth, this isn't working,"_ Alia commented in a sing-song mental tone. _"Can't you just take her?"_

"You are no match for me, Caereh. Take the crystal and leave her to me. You will never see her again." _"What makes you think I want her? Besides, as I told her, that's not the way it works."_

_#I can't live within you,#_

"You wanted someone to fear you, to love you, to do as you say. I'll do that. Why won't you take me?" Caereh broke down and whined.

Jareth's exasperated sigh was lost in the deep sigh on the soundtrack.

"Do not defy me. I have been patient with you so far, but I am quickly reaching my limits. You will release her to me, now." Jareth held out a gloved hand imperiously and took a step toward Caereh and Alia. Caereh retreated a step and raised the knife to Alia's throat again.

"Or what? You'll take me and turn me into a goblin? Will she suit you just as well dead?"

_"Alia, when I tell you, throw all your weight backward to shift her off balance,"_ Tieran told Alia. He had been slowly inching his way toward Caereh and Alia as Jareth kept Caereh distracted. Now he was standing close behind them, waiting for a chance to take the knife from Caereh.

Jareth took another step forward and prepared to answer Caereh when Tieran signaled Alia.

"Now!"

Alia threw her weight back with as much force as she could muster and hoped that the movement away from the knife would be enough to prevent Caereh injuring her as she fell. As Alia moved, so did Tieran, darting forward to grab the hand with the knife. Alia's shove was enough to knock Caereh off balance and lose her grip on Alia, but not quite enough to cause her to lose her footing. Alia escaped and ran forward to stand near Jareth. She turned to watch Tieran struggling to get the knife away from Caereh just in time to see it slice through the ruffles and dark fabric of his sleeve.

Without thinking and before Jareth could catch her to hold her back, she ran back to help Tieran. She caught Caereh around the waist, trying to pull her away from Tieran.

Caereh twisted, kicked, and writhed, trying to get the hand holding the knife out of Tieran's grasp and free to use against this new adversary. She wrenched her hand free and threw Alia off balance in turn. She tried to turn within Alia's clasp and they broke away from Tieran. Alia staggered sideways and held as tightly to Caereh as she could, knowing that if her grasp became loose enough for Caereh to turn around Caereh would be able to reach her with the knife.

Unnoticed by either of them, Caereh's twisting and thrashing heaved them closer and closer to the railing. Tieran went after them again, still trying to relieve Caereh of the knife and pull them back. This caused Caereh to renew her struggles, heedless of the imminent danger to her own person.

Alia, intent on Caereh, only realized the peril when a particularly violent shove from Caereh – as Tieran finally pulled the knife away from her – overbalanced her and sent her over the railing, still clutching at Caereh.

_#I... I can't live within you.#_

The last thing Alia saw as she fell was Sarah, drifting down among the wreckage of the room of stairs on the screen above her.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.


	26. Chapter 26

"Time to go now."

Alia opened her heavy eyelids slowly and gazed at the blurry form of a woman sitting in front of her.

"Visiting hours are ending. Time for you to go now," the voice spoke again, unnecessarily loudly, she thought. Her head hurt abominably, and this woman was standing next to her shouting. What sort of drugs had they been giving her for this thing in her head? She had vague memories, impressions of the strangest dreams.

The blurred form in front of her shifted and spoke with Cara's voice, "Just a few more minutes, please. I think she's waking up."

No, Cara was sick in the hospital. That could not be her sitting there. But if Cara was the one who was sick, why was she the one laying in bed? Cara was the one who had been getting the drugs for the thing in her head. So why did her own head hurt so much?

She groaned and raised her hand to her head, but her right hand would not move. She looked at her right hand to see why she could not move it and discovered it was not just a headache. It was a whole body ache.

Her right hand would not move because there was someone holding it. She struggled to focus her eyes on the shape. It was not Cara, she knew that, because Cara's voice came from the shape on her other side. Alia frowned. Who was it?

"Would you like your hand back?" a soft, accented, masculine voice asked gently. It was a nice voice, not as loud as the others had been. She knew it from somewhere, she was sure. She decided to let him keep her hand for a while and smiled at him.

"How do you feel?" Cara's blur asked.

"Hurts," she managed to croak.

The loud voiced woman interrupted them again, "You really must go now. You can see her again in the morning."

Cara's blur surrendered and moved toward the door. The shape holding her hand leaned over her, kissed her on the forehead, and whispered, "I will be back. Do not try to use it."

Confused, Alia watched the nurse escort them out of the room. Use what? She looked at the object he had pressed into her palm as he left. It was a heavy gold and silver pendant, set with a large stone.

"Tieran...," she remembered as tears welled in her eyes.

.….

Alia was awake and waiting for Tieran and Cara when they arrived the next morning. Her vision had cleared some, but she still had a splitting headache and ached all over. A nurse had come in and fussed over her earlier. She found her much more pleasant than the woman from the night before.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Tieran asked as he kissed her on the forehead again.

Alia hugged him as he leaned over her. "Better. I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you last night. I couldn't see clearly, but I had no idea who you were," she said, racked with guilt.

"You had a bad fall and hit your head. That was a side effect."

"But I recognized Cara's voice. I can't believe I didn't recognize your voice. I just knew I liked the sound of it and had heard it before."

"Of course you recognized her voice, you have known her for years. You know who I am now and that is what is important."

"What happened? I don't remember much of that either."

"You and Caereh fell over the rail of the balcony. Between falling on some tables and both Jareth and Tieran catching at you, you weren't seriously hurt," Cara informed her.

"Then why do I ache all over?"

"You did fall on tables," Cara pointed out.

"Part of the ache is the after effects of the magic, as well," Tieran explained. "You had too much magic pulling you in two different directions. That is also why I told you not to use your pendant when I gave it to you. More magic will only make the pain worse."

"So you can't do anything about it?"

He shook his head. "No. You just have to live through it."

"What happened to Caereh?"

"She ended up in the hospital, too," Cara told Alia. "Unfortunately, she wasn't knocked out like you were and has been raving about the Goblin King coming to take her away. Tieran told everyone that she grabbed you and dragged you up the stairs at knife-point and then started talking to someone who wasn't there. If she keeps up, someone's going to take her away, but it won't be Jareth."

"What about Jareth? There was a whole crowd of people there. Didn't anyone see him?"

"If they did, no one has mentioned it," Tieran said. "The rail of the balcony was high enough to hide most of our actions from the people standing below. They were also watching the animation clip, remember."

"So we're safe, then? No one saw anything weird?"

"It seems that way."

"Why didn't Jareth just grab me and go? It seems to me that that would have been easier."

"Jareth is not the one who does the grabbing. The goblins do that, but he had no goblins so no one was taken." Tieran explained.

"But what about the netgoblins?"

"They were busy and they're not trained for that, anyway. I asked," Cara explained.

"So Jareth just shows up to do the gloating and bargaining afterward, while the goblins do the work. Sounds typical. But if the goblins couldn't come, how could he? They were both stored on the disks."

"No, they were not," Tieran disagreed "Jareth was on that screen behind you. His own magic combined with the magic that summons him overpowered whatever it is that the animation does and released him from it. The goblins, still stored on the disks and without their own magic, could not escape."

"Lucky for you," Alia told Tieran. "Otherwise you would have had to get Caereh to come save me and I just don't see that happening. Then you would have had a goblin hunting you down."

Tieran laughed at Alia. "My point in having Caereh wish you away was not to remove you from the action, but to draw Jareth into it. You were never in any danger of becoming a goblin. The line is 'your baby brother will become one of us, forever.' You assume he means a goblin. What if he meant a resident of the Underground in whatever form? Jareth's fan list on the internet has it correctly. Only the children can be turned into goblins. And then only the right sort of children. Adults remain just as they are."

"Caereh would have enjoyed that. That must have been what she was trying to do. Did our plan work?"

"It seems to have been successful."

"But it wouldn't have unless this happened because Jareth wasn't with the rest of the Labyrinth on the disks where he was supposed to be. A silver lining for this headache." Alia sighed. "So we're done? We can get back to a normal life?"

"Except for this thing with Caereh attacking you. The police are bound to want to do something with her for that," Cara pointed out.

Alia stayed in the hospital until the next morning, then went home still sore and bruised. She gave statements to the police, who seemed perfectly willing to believe her account of the incident over Caereh's. Once home, Alia received several visits from Jareth with accompanying commentary from him about acting like a fool and the proper use of stairs, which she returned with remarks about people not being where they were supposed to be.

Cara and Jareth managed to restore the Labyrinth to its proper state, except for a small portion of the Bog of Eternal Stench, which had inexplicably gone missing. Since that was the only thing missing – and no one really missed it – they deemed the operation a success.

The animation company, however, was no longer a success. The theft and replacement of the computer system, all plans for it, and the disks containing most of the animation completed so far made headlines in the papers. Investigators theorized that it was an act of corporate espionage, but how it had been accomplished was still a mystery. In addition, the little fact that the owner of the company had apparently spent too much time with her work and started talking to the main characters discouraged investors.

In another stroke of misfortune, the building's ventilation system developed an unpleasant odor. The building was vacated and eventually condemned and razed after repeated attempts to find the source of the problem failed.

With all of this upheaval, only a few people noticed that Tieran simply did not show up for work again.

* * *

Disclaimers, credits, trivia:

Labyrinth, etc. belong to the Jim Henson Company.

That's it, that's all. There is no more. The story is now complete.

There is a sequel to it already written that I plan on posting eventually once it too is edited.

Thank you to all of you that have taken the time to comment and review. And if you read it and didn't post a comment/review – well, if I don't post the sequel consider it your fault. :P


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